INAUGURAL LECTURE - Prof Anthony Staines 'Health planning'
- 26 May 2008

Professor Anthony Staines, DCU School of Nursing, will give his inaugural lecture on Monday 26 May at 6.15.

He will give a critical analysis of the Health Service in Ireland and will examine decision-making in the health service which often involves poorly considered political interventions. The public service ethos, according to Professor Staines, encourages obedience and discourages rocking the boat.

He will suggest ways that the problems in the HSE can be solved. His talk will cover the following topics:

1. Speech and Language Therapy for 'special needs' children - no clear mechanism for consultation, assessments or feedback. How do clients benefit?

2. Consultant salary negotiations - Well paid consultants with opportunities for private practice and huge pay increases. However, no effective strategy for promoting behaviour change.

3. Hospital co-location Colocation restricts the future development of public hospitals, many of which are on very constrained sites. The private health care sector relies on a heavy public subsidy.

4. Cancer screening - Political inaction and public apathy

5. Autism - failure to provide early intervention services

ENDS