Written answers

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Department of Health

Health Service Staff

9:00 pm

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 909: To ask the Minister for Health the cost, to date, of the provision of accommodation, board and so on for Indian and Pakistani NCHDs to be recruited through the temporary registration process; if he will provide a breakdown of the figures involved; the number of such NCHDs recruited to date; the number issued with temporary registration; and the number awaiting approval of such registration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23325/11]

Photo of James ReillyJames Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The costs incurred by the HSE up to 9 September 2011 in respect of accommodation and food provided in Dublin for NCHDs recently recruited from India and Pakistan is €80,709. Details of the costs incurred in other regions are being collated by the HSE and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as they are available. The recruitment of these additional doctors will facilitate the generation of significant pay savings through reduction of NCHD overtime and spending on agency NCHD staff.

In July 2011, the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 was amended to allow for the creation of a new 'Supervised Division' on the Medical Register. Registration in the Supervised Division means that a person is registered for a period not exceeding two years in an identified post approved by the Medical Council and subject to supervision by the employer in line with criteria set down by the Medical Council. Medical Council systems are in place to ensure that patients will be treated by a doctor who has the education, training and skills to provide safe and appropriate care. In the interests of patient safety, doctors can therefore only be registered in the Supervised Division once they have met all of the registration requirements. The Medical Council and the HSE are working to ensure that the necessary procedures to facilitate the registration of doctors are completed as quickly as possible, so that they can take up duty. There are a number of elements to the processing of these applications.

(i) The paper based application by the candidate submitting all relevant documentation on qualifications, home state clearance etc;

(ii) The passing of the (practical) examination stage; and

(iii) The approval of the posts by the HSE including a declaration from the hospitals regarding the appropriate supervision of the applicants.

All three stages of the registration process have been run concurrently to expedite the registration of doctors identified as part of the HSE's recruitment drive in India and Pakistan. Approximately 70 candidates who have passed the practical examination have not yet provided the Medical Council with satisfactory evidence of their qualifications. Valid declarations from hospitals are a requirement for registration and detail the supervisory arrangements that are in place to protect patients and I understand that there are some 65 declarations outstanding at present.

Out of a total of 266 doctors, 236 passed specialty-specific examinations set by the Medical Council in August 2011. Approximately 120 of these have met the requirements for registration to the Supervised Division of the Register of Medical Practitioners and have been registered. This figure is subject to change on a daily basis as further applications are processed that have satisfied all the above requirements.

The HSE and the Medical Council are working actively to expedite submission of the necessary documentation so that the remaining doctors can be registered as soon as possible.

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