20% of Indian, Pakistani doctors brought to Ireland fail clinical exams

ONE in five foreign doctors brought to Ireland from India and Pakistan failed their exams, according to the HSE.

While more than half of the latest group of foreign doctors failed, the HSE said the overall failure rate was 20%.

Of all of the doctors recruited from India and Pakistan, 290 have passed the exams and have taken up their posts in hospitals.

The HSE’s national director of quality and patient safety, Dr Philip Crowley, said the failure rate of those sitting the exam a second time would be expected to be higher.

The Medical Council has conducted 14 examinations for the supervised division since August. The candidates have three opportunities to pass the clinical exams.

“A failure rate of 20% overall is not out of line with international rates and is testament to the fact that we have a rigorous process in place to test the competencies of doctors to ensure a high qualify of care for patients,” he said yesterday.

Dr Crowley said other jurisdictions, including Britain, had similar pass and failure rates.

“What reassures me is that we have a rigorous test of competency to ensure that the best doctors are working here,” he said.

Dr Crowley felt the health authority had dealt quite well with a major shortage of non-consultant hospital doctors that emerged two years ago.

“There were 200 vacancies; threats of closures of various services and hospitals not being able to cope,” he said.

However, it has emerged that only 54 of the 116 candidates who sat the Medical Council examinations in November and December passed. They had been paid €2,500 a month between October and December.

Dr Crowley believed the recruitment drive could have been more efficient, both for the doctors and the health system.

However, he believed the money spent on supporting the doctors while they were in Ireland waiting to sit the November was minimal compared to the cost of employing locums to fill the posts.

He also said the health authority had struck a reasonable balance in supporting the candidates while they waited for their applications to be processed.

About 500 doctors are recruited in hospitals each January with the roster changeover, and about 60 posts remain to be filled.

The HSE said the remaining posts would be filled with locum or agency doctors in line with service needs.