A WARNING from the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) that some emergency departments may have to close or curtail their hours as a result of a shortage of junior doctors must be a wake up call for the HSE and Minister for Health Mary Harney, the Labour Party’s health spokeswoman has said.
Jan O’Sullivan said the factors which were contributing to the shortage, such as difficulties getting work permits in the case of non-EU doctors, needed to be addressed.
This problem was further evidence of a worrying lack of planning in our health system, she said. “The smooth and effective operation of A&E units is crucial to our health service. Many of the units are already under severe pressure and any further closures or limitations in hours would create real problems for the public and could put the welfare and safety of patients at risk.
“It makes absolutely no sense from a health or an economic point of view to spend substantial amounts of taxpayers’ money on developing facilities and then leaving them lying idle for want of staff,” she added.
“Minister Harney and the HSE must address the factors that have led to the shortage . . . while we can’t prevent Irish trained NCHDs (non-consultant hospital doctors or junior doctors) from going abroad we have to ensure that terms and working conditions are not a disincentive to remaining in this country.
“The Irish health service has always depended to a certain extent on junior hospital doctors from abroad but I understand, for instance, that many experience difficulties in getting visas and work permits for a sufficient period of time. This is something that needs to be addressed,” Ms O’Sullivan said.
Her comments came a day after the IAEM revealed some hospitals have been consistently unable to fill junior doctor shifts in their emergency departments. It said it may soon be necessary for hospitals that cannot safely staff their emergency departments to close or limit their opening hours.
The HSE says it is working closely with individual hospitals to address their needs in this area.