THE Irish health service may no longer be able to rely so heavily on nonEuropean doctors following the introduction of the Medical Council's new assessment scheme.
The council has confirmed that it has suspended plans for the assessment examination this month, as a result of a fall off in applications for temporary registration from non EU nationals. The examination, which was drawn up for non EU nationals, was introduced early this year and includes an English language test.
The council normally receives about 1,500 applications for temporary registration a year.
The Irish Medical Organisation had warned that the introduction of the examination could deter foreign doctors from applying and lead to shortages in qualified medical staff in hospitals.
However, the Medical Council dismissed this claim yesterday, pointing out that Ireland was the only EU member state that did not have such a test. The scheme would raise the standard and lead to a better quality of health service, the council said.
Currently, some 1,200 nonEU doctors are working here. Before the examination was introduced, the temporary registration criteria were "purely administrative", the council said at a press briefing in Dublin yesterday. The new regulations apply exclusively to nonEU graduates, but doctors with certain higher professional qualifications are exempt.
The examination fee is £400 for the medical component, and £75 for the English language test.
The Medical Council also confirmed yesterday that 23 complaints about doctors currently before its Fitness to Practise Committee have been delayed by an appeal in relation to one case last year to the Supreme Court.
The appeal involves the case of a Cork doctor, Dr James Barry, who has been accused of wrongly videotaping patients.
The High Court had ruled that certain decisions of the council's Fitness to Practise Committee were fair and reasonable. The Medical Council has been informed that the appeal would not be heard by the Supreme Court until late October or early November. The actual hearing date will be fixed on June 27th.
Patients were not at any risk as a result of the delay, the council said. It was still empowered to appeal to the High Court for an emergency suspension.
