Medical standards - A sensible suggestion

A SERIES of scandals has undermined confidence in our medical systems.

Nevertheless most of us have confidence in our doctors and hospitals and anything that can be done to bolster that should be encouraged.

It is an indication of how our health system is changing that over 60% of Fitness to Practise (FTP) inquiries completed by the Medical Council last year dealt with non-Irish doctors. The council held 36 inquiries and 22 related to foreign doctors. This process led to findings against 13 doctors, 12 of whom are not Irish.

Our health system is utterly dependent on foreign workers and this means we should have ways of assessing those coming here to work. This is especially true as ever larger sections of our service are privatised. In this context the Medical Council suggestion that doctors taking up a position in Ireland be subject to a period of probation seems entirely practical and rational.