Law may stop doctors working without checks

THE HSE has been told it may need to change existing legislation to prevent 1,200 junior doctors from working anywhere in Ireland or abroad without assessments on their competency.

The comment was made by the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) at a detailed meeting with HSE chief executive, Prof Brendan Drumm, and the health service’s national director of integration, Laverne McGuinness, in Dublin yesterday.

During the meeting, IHCA representatives repeated their warning the HSE’s decision to withdraw 1,200 of the 4,800 junior doctor training posts would put patients and medical professionals at risk.