Sir, – For years the health services North and South of the Border have been justifying cutbacks in medical services over the shortage of medical professionals in areas such as emergency medicine.
It has long since become obvious that: 1. The universities are not doing their job in delivering medical professionals. 2. The medical profession in Ireland must lose control over training and numbers being trained because of their manifest failure in this and other areas over many years.
The two governments need to act to solve this problem once and for all. Why not allow hospitals or trusts to sponsor students in areas of skills shortage in exchange for commitment to work for an agreed number of years in an areas of skills shortage?
Restrictive practices have to be addressed urgently here as in other professions – why does the medical profession feel it has immunity? We must normalise the labour market in the medical profession.
Cllr CADOGAN ENRIGHT,
St Patrick’s Avenue,
Downpatrick.