Dr. Colm Henry:

As specialist training schemes evolved and came into play in the 1990s and the decade after, by 2008 it was a requirement that somebody would have completed a specialist training scheme in order to be certified as a specialist. Before 2008, that was not the case. It was an accrual of experience which was reflected in one's CV and references, along with the interview process which came after. Since 2008, it has been a requirement for interviewees to be on the specialist register.

As stated earlier, 50 or so of the consultants we are dealing with it are pre-2008. They would have worked since then as consultants in our healthcare system, accruing experience, knowledge and expertise and not just through training. Then there are 100 consultants after 2008, divided between psychiatrists and hospital consultants.

In answer to a question earlier, I stated we have 29 emergency departments operating 24-7, with 19 maternity units and paediatric units. All of those hospitals give unscheduled care services, be they emergency departments, obstetrics, paediatrics, anaesthesia for surgery or medicine, which require somebody available all the time. This is not an excuse. I am just stating the fact that there is an obligation for us to continue to provide those services unbroken. In my assessment, based on what our human resources department has ascertained, these appointments were made because they simply could not find anybody else with the necessary qualifications and training scheme completion to perform in the same post.

We are mapping through this and examining each of those cases, developing personal plans for each individual in order to see if his or her existing qualifications and work experience qualifies them to be on the specialist register. If it does not, we then can identify the gap to determine what additional training and supervision or mentoring is required.