Stranorlar GP Dr Denis McCauley, who is the new President of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), has warned that Ireland is facing a crisis of funding in the health service.
Dr McCauley was appointed at the AGM of the IMO in Killarney yesterday.
He launched his term with a call for rapid and significant funding in infrastructure and workforce to tackle the growing threats to the central role of doctors in the Irish health services.
Dr. McCauley said “the current HSE recruitment freeze is exacerbating problems and posing enormous strain on a system already under pressure. Growing population and longer life expectancy demands greater investment in health infrastructure and workforce to meet the needs of patients and this is simply not happening at the speed that is required.”
Dr. McCauley continued; “the doctor, patient relationship is the foundational relationship in medicine. We have too few doctors and we have concerns that we are moving to a model of fragmented care where patients are not best served. The value and expertise of doctors, after years of training, should not be undermined but supported, encouraged, and resourced. Of course, there will be new grades within the health system such as Physician Associates. They have their own role to play, in line with their training, but they cannot replace doctors. There have been a number of controversies in the NHS arising from the growing use of Physician Associates (PAs) in place of doctors as opposed to in a supporting role to doctors so if they are to be deployed in the Irish system, it is vital that their role is regulated and limited”.
Dr McCauley said “We want to ensure that patients are at the centre of the delivery of healthcare, but we must have enough doctors in the system to diagnose and treat them. There is a global shortage of doctors, and we must redouble our efforts to ensure we are enabling doctors to do the job for which they have trained for so long – that means a work environment that is well resourced and has the capacity to meet the needs of patients.”
The meeting will be addressed (Friday) by Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD and (Saturday) by the CEO of the HSE, Bernard Gloster.
