MANY HOSPITALS across the State are facing significant staff shortages from today as a result of a shortfall of about 150 junior doctors.
The biggest shortfall of non-consultant hospital doctors is in the area of accident and emergency, although the Health Service Executive said yesterday it did not anticipate any significant impact on patient services.
In a statement, the executive said hospitals had been putting contingency plans in place, such as redeployment and roster changes, to deal with issues arising from vacancies.
It said the situation was “much improved” from indications in recent weeks that the number of vacancies could be as high as 400.
Of the 4,660 junior doctors in the Irish hospital system, latest figures show the total number of vacancies to be about 150.
Officials say this number will continue to decline over coming days and weeks as doctors from India and Pakistan arrive in Ireland following a recruitment drive.
More than 200 of these doctors are going through visa and registration with the Medical Council and will take up posts once these arrangements are in place, according to the HSE.
“While some hospitals will have short-term pressures arising from the vacancies, these are expected to ease within one to two weeks as more doctors arrive in Ireland and become registered to practise here,” a HSE spokeswoman said.
“We are not anticipating any significant impact on patient services on Monday but will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
The HSE was unable to say where the biggest staff shortages would likely be, although it is focusing on staffing issues in Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda, the Mid-Western Hospital in Limerick and Mullingar, Tullamore, Portlaoise and Naas hospitals.
While there is no shortage of graduates from Irish medical colleges, many end up going abroad. Medical organisations say this is due to the long working day in Irish hospitals, cuts in pay and lack of opportunities for training and for career progression.
Minister for Health James Reilly has said health authorities and the Government were doing everything possible to fill gaps. One proposal being examined is a requirement that graduates from Irish medical colleges undertake a two-year internship in the public hospital system.
At present, graduates undertake a one-year internship. Following this, they can apply for so- called senior house posts or leave the system. Many doctors, however, seek training posts rather than service posts after they qualify.
Separately, there have been calls from backbench TDs to help tackle problems facing accident and emergency services by filling promised consultant posts in the sector. Labour TD for Cork South West Michael McCarthy said a pledge by the HSE to recruit 14 new consultants in emergency medicine this year had not been met.
“Given that the HSE has, by their own admission, stressed the importance of recruiting these individuals, I would call on them to speed up the process so that we can bring about improvements to the level of consultant-led care in emergency departments as soon as possible,” Mr McCarthy said.
