'Lack of housing nearly cost me Irish hospital job,' says overseas paediatrician

Dr Misha Anam turned to social media in order for her to get a place to rent

Dr Misha Anam a paediatrician from Pakistan seeking housing in Clonmel for her job at Tipperary University Hospital.

A doctor from Pakistan who was offered a job in Tipperary University Hospital very nearly had to reject the post as she was unable to find a house to rent. 

Only a last-minute desperate plea on social media secured a tenancy for Dr Misha Anam, allowing her to take up the job in paediatrics working at senior house officer level. Dr Anam said she was thrilled when offered work in Clonmel in early May, and immediately began looking for a house.

“I didn’t anticipate this would be such a big problem, this has been very problematic,” she said. 

“Everyone advised me to go to the periphery hospitals and not to Dublin at first, but imagine if I had applied to Dublin, the financial instability would have been much much higher.” Others suggested travelling without her 10-month-old daughter and husband, but she rejected this as “too uncertain.” 

The hospital gave her a list of contacts but she discovered many now only offer short-term lets. Finally, on advice from a Pakistani doctor in Dublin, she turned to social media.

“The news spread through Twitter and people started contacting me to help,” she said on Wednesday. “I am really grateful for the support I received from the Irish community. I was not expecting this but the response Irish people gave proved me wrong.” 

A Clonmel-based doctor about to leave for a new post saw her plea and arranged for her to take their lease. “I was lucky, but many others are struggling,” she said.

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Founder of ‘Trainus4Ireland’ Dr Liqa Ur Rehman, who advised Dr Anam, said her plight is not unusual, and the housing crisis is a serious deterrent to doctors thinking of moving here.

“The problem is the community is very helpful, but the stakeholders, the organisations who should help they never bother,” he said.

“We have set up a group in our community, we ask people to notify us if they are leaving a hospital and to which town they are going,” he said. “They fill out a form and we share it, so they can swap. But the crisis is so big that this strategy is only partially working now.” 

A spokesman for Tipperary University Hospital said the hospital endeavors to support new staff to find housing.

“TUH is aware that some staff have encountered difficulties in finding suitable accommodation in Clonmel and surrounding areas,” he said.

The spokesman said the hospital not aware of anyone refusing to take up a position with TUH due to accommodation difficulties "but know that there have been significant delays in people commencing posts as they are trying to locate appropriate accommodation.”

Dr Liqa ur Rehman said the housing crisis "is so big that this strategy is only partially working now”.

Local Fine Gael councillor John Fitzgerald said: "The lack of good quality or any quality private rental accommodation is very, very tight here.  It’s a cause for concern.” 

An auctioneer by profession, he said as landlords quit, their houses are being bought by first-time buyers and new landlords are not entering the market.

“Clonmel has very strong employment levels, in terms of American companies like Boston Scientific, Abbott Vascular, Sharp & Dohme, together with the medics from the hospital,” he said. “It’s the county town so there is very strong demand to house everyone.” 

He called for developments with planning permission to start construction, warning: “The existing stock won’t supply enough housing for the people who need it.”