The Government has set up a task force to examine the staffing crisis in the medical profession, the Minister for Health Mr Martin said today.
The National Task Force on medical staffing, chaired by Mr David Hanly, will implement programmes based on two reports published last year - the Hanly Report and the report of the Medical Manpower Forum.
The task force will include a central steering group, and two project groups. The first group, chaired by Mr Hanly will deal with reducing the working hours of junior doctors in line with the EU Working Time Directive. The second group, chaired by Dr Jane Buttimer, will focus on medical education and training.
The task force's inaugural meeting will take place on February 21st.
"The work of the National Task Force on Medical Staffing will be critical to resolving the problem of long hours worked by doctors in training and creating a new model of hospital service delivery based on appropriately trained doctors providing patients with the highest quality service," Mr Martin said.
