21 doctors getting help to cope with medical problems

MORE than 20 doctors are currently receiving support from the Irish Medical Council (IMC) to cope with medical problems that could impact on their professional performance.

The IMC has revealed for the first time ever the total number of doctors receiving professional assistance for a range of medical problems covering addiction to medical illness and infectious diseases.

The IMC said its health sub-committee was currently providing confidential support to 21 doctors.

Such a figure represents just 0.1% of all doctors registered in the Republic, according to the IMC. There are approximately 19,100 doctors registered to practise in Ireland.

Three-quarters of doctors receiving counselling are junior hospital doctors, while 20% are general practitioners and one is a consultant.

Ten of the doctors are receiving help from the IMC as a result of being referred there after they had been the subject of a complaint to the Council’s Fitness to Practise Committee. Six doctors were referred by a third-party, while four sought help voluntarily and one was referred by registration.

The IMC said just over 4% of all complaints against doctors received last year were health-related issues. It also revealed that 8% of inquiries by its Fitness to Practise Committee between March 2009 and August 2010 made a finding of relevant medical disability on the part of the doctor. A further 3% of inquiries made a finding of professional misconduct combined with relevant medical disability.

The IMC said most doctors who received support from its health sub-committee were monitored for two years on average, although the period varied depending on individual circumstances.

In a statement, the IMC said the figures were broadly in line with the experience of the General Medical Council in Britain where almost half of all doctors who have health restrictions have substance misuse issues and almost 40% have a mental illness.

IMC president Professor Kieran C Murphy said the council was keen to promote the role of its health sub-committee in providing assistance to doctors with health issues as patient safety was a priority.

Dr Richard Brennan, chairman of the IMC’s health sub-committee, warned doctors who did not seek help for health problems could potentially cause harm to patients.

“The positive news, however, is that internationally there is good evidence that doctors with health-related problems, especially substance misuse, have good outcomes with the correct interventions,” said Dr Brennan.

“The message for doctors who have a health difficulty which is impacting or has the potential to impact on their ability to safely treat their patients is that the committee has a wide range of expertise available to them...”

Under IMC guidelines, doctors are obliged to inform the council of any concerns about the performance of a colleague where there is a risk to patient safety.