THERE HAVE been “unacceptable delays” for a small number of junior doctors recruited from India and Pakistan to fill vacant posts in public hospitals, the HSE has admitted.
Dr Philip Crowley, director of quality and patient safety, acknowledged last night that the organisation had failed to provide documents to enable some doctors to be registered with the Medical Council, but said there were only “one or two” outstanding: “I believe there have been unacceptable delays for a small number of them and I believe we are addressing them as we speak.”
Some 180 of the 280 doctors recruited from Pakistan and India to address staff shortages in Ireland have taken up their posts.
The doctors were recruited to fill 190 posts. The HSE has said once they are registered, any surplus “will help alleviate roster pressures/vacancies that would normally be filled by locums”.
The doctors flew to Ireland in July and August, giving up their jobs at home, to take up the posts offered. Though some have said they were given assurances they would not need to sit exams to register, they subsequently found they were required to take them. They were not paid, but had food and accommodation while they waited.
Speaking on RTÉ, Mr Crowley said the HSE could not place doctors in employment until they were registered with the Medical Council. “Stringencies” around registration were “designed specifically for the safety of patients” and were backed by the HSE, he said.
In a statement last night, the Medical Council said 236 of the doctors had passed the exams for the supervised division in August. But some of those were not registered because “either the HSE or the candidate doctors” had yet to supply the information required.
Yesterday, the Irish Medical Organisation condemned the HSE for its treatment of the doctors. The union said it was aware of a number of doctors who had completed all necessary requirements to work here and were still not working nearly three months on.
