Sir, - In your editorial on Monaghan Hospital the concerns of the public in the area are rightly addressed but I do not feel the reasons that the Medical Council and the various training bodies have for refusing recognition for anaesthetic training for non consultant hospital doctors were given sufficient weight.
For decades hospitals like Monaghan have been staffed by non-EU doctors at junior staff level. These doctors, often the cream of the crop from their own medical schools, took jobs Irish doctors would not take because of lack of training in these posts. The hospital does not have the throughput nor mixture of cases essential for training purposes, nor sufficient consultant staff.
At some stage the Medical Council and the Colleges of Surgeons and Physicians had to act and point out the limitations of these posts. Of course, it is hard on the local population and the staff but if there was a serious incident due to inadequate supervision by these bodies they would be rightly criticised.
There is no shame in a hospital changing its focus. If it is true that only 20 patients have been cared for at any one time in the hospital over the last six weeks it is very sad. Imagine what help could have been given in the way of respite care so that some home carers could have had a break while this problem is being sorted out.
By the way, I was evicted from two small Dublin hospitals consecutively myself, Sir Patrick Dun's and the Adelaide, so I know first hand how emotionally draining the experience can be. - Yours, etc.,
Sen MARY HENRY Seanad Éireann, Baile Atha Cliath, 2.