IRISH MEDICAL ORGANISATION CONFERENCE:IRELAND IS facing a very serious shortage of doctors across all specialities and only limited action is being taken to address the problem, the annual conference of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has been told.
George McNeice, the organisation’s chief executive, said that in addition to the GP manpower crisis, there were difficulties recruiting public health doctors and many hospital departments were finding it impossible to recruit sufficient junior doctors resulting in some specialities only managing to operate through the goodwill of local GPs.
Earlier this week, consultants working in emergency medicine also warned that the shortage of junior doctors may result in a number of hospitals having to close their emergency departments or limit their opening hours.
Referring to the fact that many young Irish trained doctors were now emigrating Mr McNeice said: “There is no point in training doctors to high levels of skills for them then to leave the country because of a lack of a career structure. The Irish health services must be an attractive place to work so that we can retain the highly trained professionals we have,” he added.
Speaking about the debate over public pay cuts, he said having a permanent job in the public service in Ireland has now become a reason for vilification.
“Public servants, whether they are nurses, doctors, gardaí or firefighters, are being depicted as leeches on society. Their crime seems to be that they haven’t lost their jobs and are trying to deliver services in the face of financial and staffing cutbacks. Having a permanent job in the public service in Ireland has now become a reason for vilification and the words ‘public servant’ a term of abuse.
“With this continual barrage of criticism, people can easily forget the services which these public servants provide 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They can also forget how much they depend on these same nurses, doctors, gardaí, pharmacists and firefighters when they are ill, under attack or in danger of life and limb,” he added.
The committees representing GPs, junior doctors, consultants and public health doctors in the IMO will meet shortly to discuss whether or not to accept the new pay deal. Mr McNeice said he believed the committees “would be unhappy with it, but they would take account of the current fiscal position and probably recommend acceptance of it”.
Mr McNeice warned against any attempt by the State to try to use the private health system to shore up an underfunded public health system. He said while a number of rural hospitals feel under threat, services cannot be removed without a better service being put in place for patients.
“If services are just taken away, the effects for patients will be disastrous and it will inevitably lead to unnecessary disputes,” he said.
The IMO has published a position paper on universal health coverage and the fundamental principles of any such system which might be introduced, but it has failed to come down in favour of any particular model. It called for a public debate on the issue.
Its president Prof Seán Tierney said: “The IMO is committed to a universal healthcare system that . . . is there for all when they need it and at an affordable cost”.