Consultant says crisis could get much worse

A CORK consultant has warned that emergency departments could face an even worse crisis next week when junior doctors rotate posts.

Dr Chris Luke, a consultant in emergency medicine, said the HSE could face not having enough non-consultant hospital doctors or junior doctors to staff emergency departments: “We won’t know until Monday evening whether we’re going to be able to staff the 30-odd emergency departments around the country.”

Junior doctors traditionally rotate jobs as part of their training every six months. This year the rotation was put back from January 1st to January 10th.

“Next Monday this is all coming to a head. It’s been building up for 10 years; Irish doctors don’t want to work in emergency departments any more – they’re going to Australia – they are citing terms and conditions, but privately many of them will say the job is just too hard now,” he said.

“So many non-EU doctors, whom we relied on up until now, are gone, and because there’s a medical manpower crisis in the English-speaking world – where we’re competing with the UK, US and Australia – it’s possible some departments may have to partially close next week,” he added.

Other factors contributing to the shortage, he said, were a reduction in training posts and salary cuts, as well as visa availability.

He suggested doctors trained in Ireland at significant cost to the State should have to work for a period in the Irish healthcare system, given the shortages.

Last month at the publication of its service plan for 2011, the HSE acknowledged a shortage of junior doctors might have an impact on its ability to deliver services in some areas this year. There were shortages in anaesthetics, paediatrics and other specialities, in addition to emergency medicine.