Just 25% of GP trainees plan to stay in Ireland after graduation

Ireland is facing a "GP famine" as more and more family doctors consider emigrating for financial reasons, a new study indicates. Just one in four recently qualified GPs or trainees surveyed by the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) plans to stay in Ireland for definite, according to the study.

Almost 17 per cent of graduates are already working overseas, and fewer than one in five of this group plans to return to Ireland. Of those still in Ireland, almost half are not convinced they will stay here. More than 12 per cent of current trainees say they will definitely emigrate once qualified, while 25 per cent are undecided.

While most new GPs say they would prefer to stay here, the report says uncertainty about the role of GPs in the Irish healthcare system and a lack of defined career progression opportunities are the main factors driving the rise in emigration.

The report states: “There is an immediate GP workforce planning concern with a worryingly low percentage of current trainees and recent graduates committed to working in Ireland, due to concerns over the viability of general practice here, and a large proportion of both trainees and recent graduates having a desire to work less than full-time in the future.”

A separate report published by the Medical Council last week found evidence of a sharp rise in emigration among younger doctors across all specialties, but shed no light on the reasons for this trend.

The ICGP report surveyed more than 1,000 current GP trainees and family doctors who graduated between 2010 and 2013. Concerns over the viability of general practice and financial prospects were the main reasons cited for considering emigration.

Dr Gerry Mansfield, national director of GP training at the ICGP, said trainees and graduates were facing an uncertain future as Irish general practice weathered a time of unprecedented change, including the proposed introduction of free GP care and universal health insurance.

“For current trainees and recent graduates, choosing to remain in Ireland does not compare favourably with career opportunities in other markets, where they can find security in their professional roles, defined career progression opportunities and stable organised healthcare systems.”

Canada, where GPs account for half of all doctors, is the favoured destination for young Irish GPs who have already emigrated and those considering leaving. One-third of recent graduates are working fewer than eight half-day sessions a week and almost half see themselves doing so in the future, according to the study.

Only two-thirds of male trainees and one-third of female trainees see themselves working full-time 10 years after graduation. The report questions whether GPs fear “burn-out” and says this finding merits more investigation.

The report also shows that young GPs are more interested in working in group practices than operating single-handedly, an option favoured by under 2 per cent of recent graduates. This has implications for the provision of medical services in remote areas and the distances patients might in future have to travel to see a doctor.

GP training lasts for four years and the number of places was increased in 2010, from 129 to 157.

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The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) meets tomorrow to decide whether to recommend a new consultants’ pay deal to its members.

The deal, which would allow new consultants with experience to be appointed at an entry level of up to €155,000, will be considered by a joint meeting of the IMO’s consultants and non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHD) committees .

Any hospital consultant taking up a post under the deal would have to sign up to the Haddington Road agreement, the Department of Health has said. This stance will impact on members of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, the only union or representative body not agreeing to Haddington Road.

Under the proposals tabled at the Labour Relations Commission, pay for consultants working exclusively in the public hospital system would rise from an existing scale of €116,000-€121,000 to between €127,000 and €175,000 over time.

The structure envisages salary rising from €127,000 to €155,000 in six increments. Thereafter, an increase to €165,000 would follow after three years, with a further increase to €175,000 after another three years.

However, incremental credit would be available to new consultants with relevant training and experience, up to the sixth point in the scale. The IMO will have two representatives on the committee tasked with deciding how incremental credit will be offered.

The pay structure also envisages a salary of €170,000 for a head of department, rising to €180,000, while a group manager/clinical director would earn €190,000.