Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This issue concerns doctors and nurses from Ukraine who have arrived here. I understand that more than 165 doctors are here now who are qualified and who have been practising in Ukraine for several years. I do not have the number for nurses, but I understand many are here also. A register of these medical professionals is being compiled by a doctor working voluntarily. Originally from Lithuania, he has been working in Ireland for many years and he is working closely with these Ukrainian nurses and doctors to compile a register. He has given me the list of people and their qualifications, including in areas such as anaesthesia, dentistry, ear, nose and throat, ENT, paediatric surgery, dermatology, infectious diseases, internal medicine, oncology and neurology. Therefore, these doctors and nurses have a whole range of qualifications. I met one person who has been qualified for more than 12 years.

My understanding is that the medical training scheme in Ukraine is different from ours. When people here get a medical degree, they then do two or three years in different areas of medicine and that allows them to get some expertise in a wide range of areas. In Ukraine, though, I understand the system is different, in that when people graduate from university they go straight into the specialty on which they wish to focus. If our Medical Council is setting exams for these doctors, how can it set exams that are adequate to ensure candidates have the required expertise in specific areas and that will allow them to work in Ireland? I fully understand that the Department and the Minister must ensure people who gain approval to practise from the Medical Council have adequate skills and that our patients are adequately protected.

There needs to be an engagement with the Medical Council and An Bord Altranais in respect of nurses. They will have a different method and process in nursing education in Ukraine. We have a great number of people with expertise. We also have a great number of people, my understanding is well over 20,000, here from Ukraine. They will also need medical care and we need to be able to adapt accordingly. What level of engagement has occurred between the Department, the Medical Council and An Bord Altranais on identifying the adjustments that need to put in place for a proper structure for examination that would allow these people to come through the system once it is established that they have the necessary skills to practise in the particular area? It is crucial that we expedite this and get these people working. They want to work. I know one doctor, for instance, who is in an observer capacity in a clinic at the moment looking to see how the Irish system works. That is extremely important. When can we see progress on this? What is the likely timescale? I fully understand people who will be practising here will have to be proficient in English. We need to put in place the mechanisms. When can they be put in place and when can we get answers from both these organisations?

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