Full coverage: Health

Patrick McCormack, the former boss of the McCauley pharmacy chain, is leading the consortium to buy Ramona Nicholas’s Cara chain from insolvency. Here, we reveal how much money is being invested, how much is being written down and the future plans for the chain.

The Blackrock Clinic's 2019 accounts show a growing business that's preparing for its next leg of growth. How does its performance compare with the wider industry?

In September, Ramona McNicholas’s chain of chemists went into examinership as creditors bayed for €3.7 million. Now another pharmacist turned businessman is getting ready to take her place.

The pandemic has opened promising debates around many of our bad habits. The renewed focus on public health should encompass alcohol consumption and a sustainable new business model for pubs, but it is not happening.

Since being co-founded by Brendan O’Farrell in 2003, DCN has developed over 100 rapid diagnostic tests for its customers, which range from larger manufacturers to non-profits to start-ups. Martis Capital has now backed the business.

It is easy to chart the physical results of Covid-19. But when it comes to mental illness, there is no barometer or gauge. The next generation will be paying for the financial cost of this crisis, and we owe it to them to help prevent decades of mental health issues.

Dublin-based Centric Health has sold one of its biggest divisions, bringing a new player into the Irish teleradiology services market.

One year on, Dr Caitríona Ryan is forging ahead with her business, the Institute of Dermatologists. She says patients numbers have recovered to pre-Covid-19 levels and warns of exponential growth in the burden of skin cancer for Ireland.

It had once planned to become a nationwide player in Irish healthcare. But after retrenching during the economic bust, and dipping a toe in Dubai, Charter Medical is now back expanding as it moves to acquire a private hospital in the midlands.

Staff and residents have got legal representation to oppose the closure of the facility they have known as their home and workplace for decades. Directors say the business is not viable – and should vacate the valuable south Dublin city property. The next steps will play out in the High Court.