NON-EU doctors who have applied to fill vacant junior doctor posts in Irish hospitals will be eligible for financial assistance from the Health Service Executive of about €1,500 each for flights and accommodation costs, it has emerged.
The Medical Council last night met and published a series of draft rules allowing for the registration of junior doctors following the passing of the Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2011 by the Oireachtas.
The legislation was rushed through last week to address the crisis over the shortage of junior hospital doctors. Of 4,660 junior doctor positions in the Irish hospital system, latest figures show vacancies at about 150.
The new legislation will allow non-EU doctors to be temporarily registered for a maximum of two years, subject to a clinical examination and assessment.
The president of the Medical Council Prof Kieran Murphy yesterday encouraged participation in a public consultation process on the new rules which are available on the Medical Council website medicalcouncil.ie.
“This is an important requirement of the Act because all rules regarding the registration of doctors concerns the safety of patients,” Prof Murphy said. “The Medical Council’s role is to set the standards for doctors working in Ireland to ensure the safety of the public.
“These rules have been drafted to create robust processes which will assure both the council and the general public that doctors on the new supervised division of the medical register are fit to practise medicine in Ireland.”
To date, 105 doctors have arrived from India and Pakistan following a recruitment drive. More are scheduled to arrive in coming days, said the HSE.
A total of 264 non-EU doctors have applied for visas. The HSE will pay an allowance of €700 towards the cost of flights to Ireland for successful applicants.
On arrival, the doctors are being housed in hospital accommodation or BBs. They will then receive an allowance of €100 a week towards the cost of accommodation for the first eight weeks of their contract.
The biggest shortfall of non-consultant hospital doctors is in the area of accident and emergency, although the HSE said yesterday it did not anticipate any significant impact on patient services.
In a statement, the executive said hospitals had been putting contingency plans in place, such as redeployment and roster changes, to deal with issues arising from vacancies.
The hospitals with the most urgent staffing issues are understood to include Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda, the Mid-Western Hospital, Limerick, and Mullingar, Tullamore, Portlaoise and Naas hospitals.
While there is no shortage of graduates from Irish medical colleges, many travel abroad. Medical organisations say this is due to the long working days in Irish hospitals, cuts in pay levels and the lack of opportunities for training and career progression.
