Kidneys sent abroad as Beaumont faces staff shortage

Kidneys from Irish donors may have to be exported because of a lack of staff to transplant them to recipients here.

Consultants at the national renal transplant programme at Beaumont Hospital say they would cease round-the-clock emergency cover from next month unless new arrangements were agreed to address staff shortages.

The number of transplant surgeons has dropped to four, half the recommended staffing level, since the recent retirement of former Dublin GAA player David Hickey and the return to the Far East of another consultant.

The hospital advertised vacant positions twice but no suitably qualified candidates applied. Consultants say the entry level of €109,000 is a major disincentive to potential applicants. “Transplant surgery is a highly demanding and potentially fraught job at the sharp end of medicine. Those qualified to do it are not prepared to work for the pay offered by the Irish health service,” said one.

Emergency cover

Cover is provided by the team on a round-the-clock basis in addition to their day work. A transplant surgeon is responsible for harvesting a donated organ and transplanting it into a person requiring the organ within 48 hours. There are more than 600 people awaiting transplant. The consultants say they will work on-call one day in eight, meaning there would be no cover for 50 per cent of the time. Should transplantable kidneys become available when there is no cover, it is likely qualified staff would fly from the UK to harvest them for use in British hospitals.

The renal consultants threatened to withdraw cover earlier this month but agreed to defer action following a meeting with HSE deputy director of acute hospitals Angela Fitzgerald.

Ms Fitzgerald admitted the situation was “far from ideal” but expressed confidence a solution would be found to lift the threat to cover arrangements.

Beaumont Hospital blamed the vacancies on a worldwide shortage of surgeons .