Medical Council to be quizzed on Bahrain violations

The Medical Council will be asked to appear before the Oireachtas education committee to explain how it plans to accredit the Bahrain medical facility of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in light of human rights violations.

The request was decided on yesterday after a presentation by Ceartas, Irish Lawyers for Human Rights, a non-profit organisation.

Gearóid Ó Cuinn, co-director of Ceartas, said there was a conflict between the council upholding the standards of the World Federation for Medical Education — which require facilities to be safe, appropriate and able to deliver on the core competencies — when those used by RCSI Bahrain “are not in an environment that lives up to Irish standards”.