Medical Council warns against lay majority proposal

PLANS by Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney to have a lay majority on a new Medical Council could jeopardise its independence, the council’s vice-president, Dr Colm Quigley, warned last night.

“It would be very unfortunate if the Medical Council became a semi-state body that would rubber stamp Government cost-cutting or decision-making,” said Dr Quigley during a press conference in the council’s offices in Dublin.

Currently, four of the 23 council members are lay people.

The council warned that the proposed change has many implications, such as the number of registered medical practitioners to be elected and the representation of the medical schools and the training bodies.

It was crucial, said Dr Quigley, that the emphasis would be on the council’s role to protect the patient and that doctors did not work for the Health Service Executive (HSE) or any particular body - they worked for the patients in front of them.

If a minister was going to have a lay majority, it was also important that society asked who was appointed and why. Could anybody apply or was it going to be a political system, he asked.

Council president Dr John Hillery pointed out that Mr Harney had stated that there must be ways of putting lay representation on bodies like the Medical Council that don’t involve a personal choice or recommendation by a politician.

“We have pointed out several international models where that has worked and I think she is aware of that issue as we are but we intend to keep it on the agenda.”

Dr Quigley said it would be no harm for the medical profession to consider the future of the council and inform itself fully so that Ms Harney got views from them as well as the public.

The new council would be included in the New Medical Practitioners Act and it is understood that the heads of the bill that lay out the framework of the act will be published in the New Year.

The council also said it would be disastrous for the health service if a report recommending an rise in medical student training places from 305 to 725 was not acted on next year.

It is understood funding for the implementation of the report will be included in the Book of Estimates to be published this month.