Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to refer briefly to this section because it is important to have clarification.

Much incorrect information was given this morning in regard to the procedures for termination. The majority - 99.99% - of terminations involve the application of medication, not the procedure outlined by Senator Walsh, who is about 25 years behind the times in the description he gave yesterday, today and other days. It is wrong that this kind of false, misleading and untrue information is given out. It is important that I clarify that.

The issue I wish to raise in respect of section 2 is a concern I have had. In fairness, I have had a detailed discussion with the Minister on the matter, which is the definition of "obstetrician", and I know the matter is being dealt with. It was raised at the public hearings. I refer to what Professor Fionnuala McAuliffe said in those hearings. This comes from the report on the heads of the Bill. She is a member of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which proposed that the definition be expanded to cover cases in which an obstetrician who is registered only on the General Medical Register is acting in the role of a consultant, who would be on the specialist register. These situations occur commonly, such as over weekends, and requiring a full registered consultant to intervene in such a case could cause harmful delays. This was endorsed by Dr. Rhona Mahony. The term "obstetrician-gynaecologist" could be used to cover cases in which a specialist has simply chosen not to register, or where a specialist registrar is covering for a registered consultant.

I raise this issue because the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists contacted me last Friday and raised its concern that it had not made progress with the Department on the matter. There are three parties to this issue: the Department, the institute and the Medical Council. It is important to deal with the issue. I was talking not just to one person; I spoke to Professor Robert Harrison, Professor Fionnuala McAuliffe and Dr. Cathy Allen. There is no legal requirement for obstetricians to be on the specialist register. The definition in the Bill provides that people who are on that register are defined as "obstetricians". Professor Robert Harrison has indicated to me that up to 30% of those involved may not be on the specialist register.

He has agreed to write to every practising obstetrician to make an application to go on the specialist register. The process must be expedited to get people on. The issue arose as when the legislation was being passed a number of years ago, people who had been practising for a number of years were already recognised as being on a specialist register and everybody else coming through after that had come through a training process on the specialist register. A number of people were offered positions but had not taken them up at the time the legislation went through and were not on the specialist register in real terms. The issue must be resolved, as I am speaking particularly about smaller units with three obstetricians, for example. The problem with smaller units is there is a one-in-three call, meaning one consultant is on call from 5 p.m. on Friday right through to 9 a.m. on Monday. If the person on call is not on a specialist register, there may be a problem with a delay in dealing with a medical procedure.

I raise the matter in this context as it is a genuine concern of mine and the institute. The matter should be resolved. It is not just the Department that is involved, and although I know it does not oversee the issue, we must nonetheless progress the matter. There 12 small units with only three consultants among the 19 units. There is another matter relating to locums, which are difficult to recruit for smaller units. I know a major effort is made by the Department and the HSE to ensure all locums are suitably qualified but there may be instances where some locums are not on the specialist register. We must resolve the issue in the shortest possible time.