Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 14 November 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion

9:00 am

Dr. Colm Henry:

Yes. The reason I say it is because that particular condition did not apply at the time. There were 50 such people and they are well within the system, as the Deputy points out, and well established as practitioners. We are, therefore, choosing not to address their issues. The Deputy's question is really directed at those who came in after 2008. We have a figure of approximately 100 who are not on the specialist register, but I will get the exact figure for the Deputy. We are making site visits. There are two types of site at which these particular doctors work, namely, acutely hospital sites and community healthcare organisations where they work as psychiatrists. As the director general has just pointed out, there will be individual needs for each practitioner and individual deficits to address and we are working with the colleges to determine whether we can address those deficits through whatever training is required to allow practitioners to be adopted onto the specialist register, thereby providing the public with the assurance they need that these doctors are working and practising as bona fide consultants.