Increase in college places could mean 1,400 more medical and veterinary professionals

The Irish Medical Organisation has warned patient and doctor health is now in danger because of the gap between the number of doctors needed and the numbers available.

A significant expansion in third-level college places could see Ireland train almost 1,400 more doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and vets each year.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) has recommended that significant expansion in healthcare and veterinary medicine training could result in an increase of more than 5,000 new third-level enrolments.

Late last year, the HEA was tasked by the Department of Further and Higher Education with establishing additional capacity in healthcare and veterinary, which are currently experiencing shortfalls in the numbers trained, in a short period of time.

The report found that, with investment, an additional 208 doctors, 692 nurses, 196 pharmacists, 63 dentists, and 230 vets can be trained here every year, through the establishment of new courses and the expansion of current ones.

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, and Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue are expected today to announce further details and the go-ahead for the next phase of proposed developments.

The Government has agreed to advance the proposals put forward by the HEA, with investment to be considered as part of the budget process and the National Development Plan review.

Ireland has continued to struggle with recruiting key qualified healthcare professionals. 

Earlier this year, Irish Dental Association (IDA) chief executive Fintan Hourihan warned that dental schools at University College Cork (UCC) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD) do not produce enough dentists or dental practitioners to meet patient demands.

Vets have also sounded the alarm on what they see as an urgent need for new veterinary schools to help tackle a recruitment and retention crisis in the profession, prompting calls for new courses.

The Irish Medical Organisation has also warned patient and doctor health is now in danger because of the gap between the number of doctors needed and the numbers available.

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Last week, Mr Donnelly said Ireland needs to double the number of healthcare college places in order to meet demand over the coming years.

The HEA report proposes almost tripling the current number of vets trained, from roughly 80 college places annually to 230, by significantly expanding places at the only course in the country at University College Dublin while also opening three new veterinary schools outside of Dublin.

This would include opening a course in veterinary medicine and surgery at the University of Limerick, as well as two new courses at the Southeast Technological University (SETU) and the Atlantic Technological University (ATU).

The proposed new courses in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and veterinary would be spread across a number of third-level providers and would see the establishment of new forms of delivery.

For example, a new nursing course at Maynooth University would see half of its places be reserved for students from further education, while Dundalk Institute of Technology and ATU would also reserve places for students from further education too.

The HEA has also recommended the establishment of six new nursing courses across four universities; UCC, University of Galway (UG), Maynooth University, and Dublin City University (DCU).

In medicine, a new course at UG proposes focusing on medicine in remote and rural settings specifically. 

Three new pharmacy courses at UG, SETU, and ATU would see an additional 151 pharmacists trained a year.

It also recommended the establishment of a new dentistry course at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland as well as expanding the course at UCC by 20 college places, and at TCD by eight places.