Pintman Kev Burke

Guitar & Music lover, TV & Film watcher, not a bad chef either.

[Pintman Kev Burke @KevBurkey]

@duzBme The real crime here is that two bags of shopping costs €155

[michaeltmccarthy @mccarthymt7]

I am thinking about this quote from the Minister for Health (@roinnslainte):

“We cannot continue to spend more without spending smarter, and Budget 2026 represents a sea-change in how we target our investment. We are striving for increased productivity in all regions, and driving innovation as we develop faster, smarter and safer ways of delivering healthcare.”

I have attached the press release.

In terms of “increased productivity in all regions”, I think there probably are outstanding efficiencies outside of the obvious, that could be made.

I see all new referrals within a week, and deliver all decisions the same day. I sit in OPD for usually a few hours after clinic until all of the letters are written, treatment slots and scans are requested, follow up appointments booked, etc. In other words, the outputs are delivered same day.

Available treatment slots, radiology slots etc, are typically fully booked out for the next 5-8 weeks, when I would like to have them available within the next 3 weeks.

When I look into this, it turns out the nursing staff, and radiography staff, for example, who are highly specialised (maybe their pay grades do dot adequately reflect their expertise) are working very hard already.

I cannot ask them to work harder.

They work their full HSE contracts from Monday to Friday.

When the Minister mentions “increased productivity”, if the Minister means making the existing staff work more hours than full time (recent bank holiday oncology day ward openings were funded fully by overtime), I think that is not a sustainable solution to the fundamental problem of insufficient capacity.

Maybe in other HSE areas “increased productivity” is a good idea. The phrase seems to me yet another masterful linguistic deflection from the reality that capacity is inadequate, and has been for probably decades.

This phrase, likely designed by @roinnslainte is probably good enough to deceive the public, the news, and the TDs.

I think it is misleading.

Even if the HSE could adopt an engineering approach to efficiency, I do not think this could fully bridge the capacity gap.

Resources + engineered efficiency is the way forward.

“Work harder” will not fix it.

https://t.co/QPvJEiCNXI

[Muhammad Qudrat Ullah, MD @QudratUllahRana]

🚨 The 2026 AHA/ACC PE guidelines changed how we think about pulmonary embolism.
Not just new treatments — a new clinical framework.
Say goodbye to “massive vs submassive.”
Meet A–E PE Clinical Categories 🧵👇

[Joshua Kimbrell @joshkimbre]

Transcutaneous pacing (TCP) is an intervention for unstable bradycardia. Electrical stimulus is provided ~1/s to increase heart rate. With transvenous pacers and chronotropic meds, TCP is mostly limited to the prehospital setting and low-resource centers.

We suck at TCP.

🧵

[Sean McGovern @smcg600]

The challenge of getting past Whatiffery applies to the whole clinical journey from referral to ED through to discharge ?

[Pintman Kev Burke @KevBurkey]

@CollinRugg Y we n I

[Pintman Kev Burke @KevBurkey]

@IhabFathiSulima RTA with seatbelt injury

[F. Perry Wilson, MD MSCE @fperrywilson]

Every week, I see a new study talking about this or that effect of GLP-1 receptor agonists like #ozempic. FINALLY, we have a study evaluating all the outcomes (good and bad) in one dataset. There are some... surprises. 🧵

[Mike O'Callaghan @mike0callaghan]

Inaccurate reporting alert 🚨... Important to understand differences between GPs and hospital docs here i.e. We do all our own clinical follow up... 1/7 https://t.co/kha0GFG52L

[Dermot Looney @dlooney]

Interesting stat from Gráinne.

Now to take a big swig of coffee and read up on what party is in government now, has been in government for most of the state’s history, and has the Minister for Health.

Simultaneously shameless and shameful.

[tubadsouza @TubaDsouza]

Last week @tommytrinh asked me where I got the black garlic from my *award winning* fried rice from.

Fun fact: I actually make it myself! On my balcony in Toronto in this contraption I made so it doesn’t stink up the neighborhood (lol).

Here’s the extremely random story of how this started. ⬇️

[Pintman Kev Burke @KevBurkey]

@imghelpinghand Interested!

[michaeltmccarthy @mccarthymt7]

On the train to Dublin this morning for a highly encouraging and productive @hseNCCP #NCIS meeting, I managed to finish writing my clinic letters from Friday OPD in a word document.

My letters contain the information that outlines the full plan, from systemic therapy slot booking, follow up booking, imaging requests and timeline, molecular pathology requests, external referrals, IR requests, and planned SACT order.

The information is all there in the letter.

Currently, I am logged in to 8 separate programmes at 15-20 minutes per patient to ensure these plans will be enacted. It will take me several hours to finish this.

It is time that public hospitals had access to a functional electronic healthcare record.

If taxpayers can fund an EHR for @CancerInstIRE, (which is fully appropriate) surely fair access for all patients, cancer and non-cancer, is a reasonable request.

We are 20-30 years behind Europe here, let’s not make it 30-40 years behind.

@CcoHse @CancerUniGalway @OECI_EEIG @saoltagroup @eHealthIreland @roinnslainte

[Gillian Sherratt @GillSherratt23]

🚨important-read this post in full🚨

This is not a post I would ever share normally but we feel the need to address this. We have seen a large number of posts featuring Harvey and Harvey’s story being used in this horrific and racist light. As Harvey’s parents we do not agree with this and we are truly saddened to be in any way affiliated with the massive increase in hate speech towards immigrant and refugees in Ireland. Harvey is awaiting surgical intervention yes, but that is in no way relevant or connected to the murder of Aisling Murphy and the two topics cannot be compared in any way. That was a violent crime against a woman fuelled by misogyny, this is of course a horrific crime but it should not be used against immigrants and most violent crimes against women are by their own partner so to try and turn it in to something it’s not it just deplorable.
For the record, within Harvey and Lyla’s hospitals there is a vast array of nationalities across the doctors and nurses, without immigrants our hospitals would be in an even worse staffing position and some of our favourite staff over the years have been non Irish so to think of them being subjected to racism now after the work they have done and continue to do for our children is just heartbreaking.
Racism is never ok.

If you see any post sharing Harvey’s case in this way please know that they do not represent our views, they do not reflect how we feel towards immigrants and we actively stand against racism and the far right movement as a whole.

Thank you if you read this far!!

[Paul Howard @AkaPaulHoward]

I’m not Government adviser material but it strikes me that ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet’ is a terrible choice of entrance music for the leader of a party that’s been in Government for 13 years.

[Pearse Doherty @PearseDoherty]

Maith thú Sarah. 👊

[Pintman Kev Burke @KevBurkey]

Mom, can we go to the Las Vegas Sphere?

No son, we have a sphere at home.
#NaasRoadBall