A law that limits the career advancement of many non-EU doctors in Ireland will contribute to the physician shortage if it is not changed, according to an organisation of overseas doctors.
Barriers to accessing training posts for non-EU doctors was the main topic of discussion at the Overseas Medics of Ireland (OMI) annual conference in Dublin on Saturday.
According to Dr Shakya Bhattacharjee, the group’s general secretary, the “internship clause” of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 is the biggest problem for overseas doctors working in Ireland.
The clause prohibits doctors from many countries from applying for training posts, regardless of their Irish postgraduate qualifications and work experience. The same doctors are permitted to apply for similar posts in the UK, US and other OECD countries.
Currently, only doctors trained in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Sudan, South Africa (after 2006) and Pakistan (after 2008) can apply for training posts in Ireland.
Speaking at the conference, Dr Bhattacharjee said the clause makes Ireland less attractive to foreign doctors and will cause many of them to leave if it is not changed.
Over one third, or 34.3 per cent, of doctors currently working in Ireland were trained abroad, according to the Medical Council's Workforce Report 2014. Ireland's reliance on physicians trained overseas is among the highest of the OECD countries.
Eric Young, assistant director of industrial relations at the Irish Medical Organisation, said a major problem for the Health Service is emigration of doctors from Ireland. “We’re losing too many doctors, causing a huge problem, putting doctors in the system under pressure and negatively affecting patients.”
Dr Gerard Crotty, president of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, said the doctor shortage “hugely affects service to patients”.
“We have a shortage of doctors, and instead of actually making the posts more attractive and dealing with the actual cause of the problem, we have a Government that seems hell bent on making it more difficult to work here,” he added.
The OMI called on the Minister for Health, the HSE and the Irish Medical Council to remove the clause.
OMI is an organisation for overseas medical professionals living and working in Ireland. It has around 400 members from non-EU countries like India, Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan and Russia.