Consultants blamed for poor training of doctors

HOSPITAL CONSULTANTS have been blamed for the poor training of junior doctors by Wexford Fine Gael TD Liam Twomey.

He said it would be generous of him to say his own training was only haphazard.

“I can honestly say disaster was averted not because of excellent training or my expertise but because I was lucky and I had a good nurse beside me. That is not the way to train junior doctors.’’

Dr Twomey said he had worked in a large number of hospitals in Munster before going into general practice, and he believed “the same carry-on in training’’ was happening today.

“There has been little or no change, and the group of people responsible is hospital consultants.’’

Dr Twomey said there were many good individuals within the health services, but the administration was chaotic and there was an absence of a grand strategy.

“Percolating through the system to hospital and regional management, there are many problems which are not being dealt with by people who are paid well to do so.’’

He was concerned about the supervision within the health services. “We must place responsibility not just on some faceless bureaucrats within the HSE who can then hang out a junior doctor when a mistake is made. We must make the people who are delivering the health services responsible for what is happening.’’

Dr Twomey was speaking during the debate on the Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2011, enabling the Medical Council to create a new supervised register of doctors to be assigned for a period not exceeding two years.

Describing the legislation as a “sticking plaster’’, he said it was bad policy for a country, after 25 years, to rely on 80 per cent to 90 per cent of junior doctors in non-teaching hospitals coming from Pakistan and India.

Irish doctors were emigrating to the US, England, France and Germany because the quality of the training there was better.

“Some of the doctors return but many do not. We are acting as a parasite on Third World countries in order to shore up our health service.’’

Minister for Health James Reilly said the legislation was being debated against time constraints because of the seriousness of the shortage of non-consultant hospital doctors. The shortage was not related to funding, any recruitment embargo, moratorium or reorganisation of hospitals but to an inability to attract doctors to work in hospitals. “In this regard, we are not unique as much of Europe, including the UK, is encountering the same problems.’’

Dr Reilly reiterated that he would not oversee any process which resulted in the employment of non-consultant hospital doctors who were incapable of safely providing the services required. “Patient safety must be at the top of our agenda and our utmost priority.’’

He said he was acutely aware of the need to ensure that doctors from India or Pakistan seeking registration by the Medical Council were proficient in the English language.

Dr Reilly added that he had received a written assurance from the HSE that those selected had been educated in English on medical matters, with many also receiving postgraduate qualifications through English. They were interviewed through English, using the standard HSE format and with the pass mark raised from 40 per cent to 60 per cent.

The Bill, said Dr Reilly, would form a major part of the arrangement being put in place to attract doctors to Ireland, not just now but in the coming years.

It passed all stages.