Emily O'Conor

"Staff sickness a major factor behind critical incident". If your system can't handle some staff calling in sick without catastrophically failing, that's mismanagement. bbc.com/news/articles/cwly32…

It is with immense sadness to mark the passing of Dr Sarah Fitzgibbon. Sarah was a regular columnist for the Medical Independent since 2018. As the mountains of positive feedback we received over the years in response to her wonderful columns attested, she was a brilliant and much-loved writer. No matter the subject, Sarah always brought a lightness of style and wit that was inimitable. Her death is a huge loss to Irish medicine, from her cancer advocacy to her work on supporting women doctors with the establishment of WiMIN . We extend the deepest sympathies and best wishes to her family, friends, and colleagues at this difficult time.

Tributes paid to Cork GP who died following battle with cancer irishexaminer.com/news/munst…

When an overloaded ED gets it wrong, who should be accountable? theconversation.com/when-an-… via @ConversationEDU

This is not a moral question, it is a logical one. When someone takes maternity leave (a very good thing), the maternity leave is typically paid on minimal salary, and the post is routinely left empty. There is no automatic funding for a temporary replacement. I do not understand why people are not very angry about this.

Emergency medicine consultants @TJCoats and @FfionDavies4, who joined UHL as a newly-married couple in 2003, have announced their retirement from the NHS. Dr Davies said: “It’s been a rewarding 23 years at UHL. The teamwork is second-to-none."