A doctor under investigation in Norway for lacking basic medical knowledge, including how to perform injections, was able to obtain a licence in Ireland and retain it for more than two years before being suspended by Irish authorities.
Ophthalmologist Gavriel Simha Furedi obtained his Irish licence in January 2021 shortly after formal complaints were first made about him by colleagues in a Norwegian hospital.
He was suspended by Norwegian authorities in June 2021 and permanently struck off in that country in December 2021.
The Norwegian medical authority found the doctor had “limited understanding” of sterility procedures and that attempts to train him in administering injections “have not been successful”.
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He often misinterpreted scans, something which could result in permanent vision impairment, and did not understand “common words and expressions that a doctor or patient is expected to know”, it found.
[ How a doctor lacking basic skills and suspended in Norway maintained a licence in Ireland ]
However, he remained able to practise medicine in Ireland until May 2023 when the Irish High Court issued an interim suspension order, internal documents show.
That suspension order remains, pending a full hearing. However,more than four years after complaints against the doctor were first upheld in Norway, Dr Furedi remains on the Irish register.
The Irish authorities have been unable to obtain certain documents relating to the case from their Norwegian counterparts. This is preventing them from progressing with a full fitness-to-practise hearing.
Additionally, Dr Furedi remains free to practise in his native Romania, where authorities have failed to take any action against him despite, according to documents, being notified of the case four years ago.
Records show the ophthalmologist is practising in a clinic in the Romanian capital of Bucharest.
[ Doctors sanctioned overseas able to retain licences to practise in IrelandOpens in new window ]
It is not clear if Dr Furedi practised in Ireland after obtaining a medical licence here in January 2021. The Irish Medical Council confirmed he is prohibited from practising but declined to answer further questions citing “an ongoing regulatory process”.
The case was uncovered during an investigation by The Irish Times, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and 50 other media outlets around the world. The investigation found many doctors are easily able to obtain or retain a licence to practise in one country after being found guilty of serious medical misconduct in another.
This includes doctors found to have engaged in sexual abuse of patients or found guilty of severe malpractice resulting in patient deaths.
Cases included 11 doctors who were sanctioned in the UK, including being struck off, and who remain on the Irish register with no public notice of their misconduct.
Another 16 cases were found of doctors sanctioned in Ireland who were able to continue working overseas without repercussions.
The Irish Medical Council has said proper procedures were followed in all cases.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin expressed “concerns” about the findings of The Irish Times investigation.
Checks should take place to make sure medics applying to practise in Ireland had not been subject to sanctions or misconduct findings in other countries previously, he said.
“I think the medical council has a clear responsibility here. Systems have to be very robust and resilient in respect of tracking what’s happening in other countries, particularly in United Kingdom or in European Union member states, or anywhere for that matter,” he said.
Stephen McMahon, chair of the Irish Patients Association, said the investigation “exposes a fundamental betrayal of patient trust”.
Under EU regulations patients have an “explicit right to information about healthcare providers’ sanctions. When overseas sanctions aren’t displayed on our medical council’s public register, patients cannot give truly informed consent”, Mr McMahon said.
Neither Dr Furedi nor the Romania medical regulatory body responded to requests for comment.
