Junior doctor shortage puts lives at risk

A CHRONIC shortage of junior doctors in our hospitals is putting patients at risk and almost prompted the closure of one of the country’s largest emergency departments last week.

Dr Chris Luke, a consultant in emergency medicine at Cork University Hospital and the city’s Mercy University Hospital, issued the stark warning as new figures, released under Freedom of Information, revealed the HSE were forced to pay over €1 million in overtime last year to just 10 junior doctors in the mid-west region.

The figures also show how one junior doctor worked so much overtime last year he was paid over €200,000 – four times the annual salary of a registrar.