The State is to recognise the specialist qualifications of doctors from outside the EU, including those with refugee status, Minister for Health Mary Harney said in the Dáil yesterday. Michael O'Reganreports.
She said registration procedures for all would be more streamlined. A new register, including divisions for those undertaking specialist training, those with specialist qualifications, and those undertaking a more general scope of practice, would be clear.
"The system of temporary registration for doctors from outside the EU will be discontinued in order to allow for those doctors who have given such enormous support to our health service to enjoy the same benefits of registration as their Irish and EU-qualified colleagues and peers."
Ms Harney was introducing the Medical Practitioners Bill, which, she said, modernised the regulation of medical practitioners by the Medical Council.
She said there had been an acknowledged need to revise the legislative framework, which was now almost 30 years old.
The need to act decisively was more evident than ever, especially following the publication of the Lourdes hospital inquiry report and other health inquiries.
"Putting people first includes ensuring that patients are given greater influence and greater responsibility."
Ms Harney said she believed the regulation of any profession would be enhanced by opening up the system to new ideas brought in by those who were not members of the profession itself.
In providing for membership of the Medical Council, she had been conscious that the regulation of doctors could not solely be the remit of doctors themselves, with minimal input from patients and other professionals.
"Education is the key to quality medical practice, as is research. I have endeavoured to ensure that the third-level sector, as well as those representing the broader science and humanities areas, are represented.
"I have also included a representative from the Health Information and Quality Authority. The Medical Council's functions under this legislation will have a major focus on setting and monitoring standards and quality.
" In my view this new membership will only serve to enhance that role."
Ms Harney said a central feature of the Bill was the adoption of a contemporary approach to fitness to practise issues.
There would be a mediation process for less serious complaints by agreement of the parties concerned.
The Bill also included a means for a complaint to be referred to the statutory complaints process established under the Health Act 2004, or to the procedures of another body or authority, or for the referral of a matter to competence-assurance procedures where appropriate.
She had decided, she said, that, in general fitness to practise inquiries would be heard in public.
In order to allow for individual situations where that might not be appropriate, there was provision for the committee to decide to hold all or part of an inquiry in private.
Ms Harney said Judge Maureen Harding Clark's recommendations for the reform of education and training of doctors had been studied and would be implemented in a number of ways.
"While we can never guarantee that mistakes will not happen again, this legislation provides a major opportunity to learn from the past and to put in place necessary elements to limit the impact of mistakes in the future."
She said all employers of medical practitioners, not least the Health Service Executive, had been given statutory responsibilities regarding the maintenance of professional competence of qualified medical practitioners.