Medical Council denies medics’ claim

The Medical Council has defended its record in relation to a group of Asian doctors who have accused it of “unlawful treatment”.

The doctors, recruited from India and Pakistan by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in 2011, claim that “discrimination and unlawful treatment has been an ongoing pattern” since their arrival.

The doctors, represented by Hayes Solicitors in Dublin, have written to the HSE, the Department of Health and the council advising that they intend to take legal action.

Dr Imran Habib, a spokesperson for the Asian doctors, said they were planning a mass protest in Dublin in May to highlight their cause.

The 260 doctors, recruited to work here for two years in a specially created supervised division, claim they have not been given enough time to prepare for an exam they need to pass in order to remain here. Passing the PRES (Pre Registration Examination System) would allow them transfer from the supervised division to the general division of the medical register, which they need to do in order to continue working in Ireland.

Yesterday the council said it had “clearly and consistently communicated” with the doctors advising that if they wished to remain here beyond their two-year contracts, they had to transfer division.

The council said it had dedicated specific staff and ring-fenced specific examination capacity to support their timely transfer.

“For example, over 320 places were ring-fenced specifically for doctors currently in the supervised division to allow them to sit the PRES for the general division,” the council said.

The HSE said it was supporting the doctors transfer from one division to another including funding a training body to run a preparatory course for the PRES. The HSE said 35 doctors were eligible to transfer divisions by virtue, inter alia, of having a recognised higher qualification. The HSE said it would continue to work with the remaining doctors and the Council in relation to registration.

However, Senator Colm Burke, Fine Gael health spokesperson in the Seanad, said he was very concerned about the treatment of the doctors and that he had raised the issue on Mar 5 at a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health, convened at his request. The HSE was present, including Prof Eilish McGovern, the HSE National Programme Director for Medical Training, and Mr Burke said he had asked what arrangements were being put in place to accommodate the transfer of the doctors. “I was given no definitive answer,” he said. He subsequently wrote to Prof McGovern asking for clarification, but did not, he said, receive a reply.

Dr Habib said ultimately they were looking for a peaceful solution.