Sir, – As a senior staff specialist in an Australian public hospital I frequently have the pleasure of working with young medical doctors who have recently graduated from Irish universities. These individuals are invariably hard working, knowledgeable, caring and committed.
They contribute enormously to the delivery of care in the Australian health service and we consider ourselves lucky to have them. Many choose to stay with us permanently, to our great benefit.
It is with concern that I continue to hear about the working conditions of the non-consultant hospital doctors in Ireland. The issues these doctors face are not new. Indeed, we faced similar issues two decades ago in Australia and have made considerable progress in managing them, for the benefit of both the doctors and the health services.
Although far from perfect, most of the conditions our young doctors encounter are significantly better than the situation here in Ireland.
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In my opinion, respectful dialogue between the doctors and health service management is the starting point to improve these conditions. If this does not occur, Australia will continue to benefit from large numbers of Ireland’s best and brightest young professionals deciding to leave this country.
– Yours, etc,
MICHAEL SHANAHAN,
Adelaide,
Australia.