Madam, – Staffing crises at non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHD) level have a devastating effect on the provision of urgent medical care to the citizens of Ireland. At the most vulnerable time of a person’s life, to face delays in crucial surgery is a disgrace. Due to a shortage of theatre staff, many theatre lists are cancelled in advance, obfuscated by management speak such as “rotating theatre closures”.
In reality, the cause is simple and twofold. There is a shortage of medical and nursing staff, and there are bed closures. Anaesthetists form the backbone of acute medical care in our hospitals. A dramatic reduction in the number of doctors in training has been compounded by a failure to expand the number of consultants. Shortages of trainees on a day-to- day basis has led to an inability of trainees to avail of the many excellent training opportunities provided by the training bodies, with many understandably electing to emigrate.
The solution is simple: employ more consultants. Provide the people of Ireland with the health care system we deserve rather than exporting our doctors like highly-trained livestock, never to return. – Yours, etc,