The Medical Council has today launched a public consultation on its draft strategic plan to cover the period 2024 to 2028. To help inform this strategy, an online survey is now open and feedback from the public is welcome until 27 September 2024.

The Council is inviting members of the public including patients, the medical profession, media, and other stakeholders, to give their views on the draft strategic plan by participating in the online survey. The Council stated it is keen to encourage as broad a range of feedback as possible from individuals, groups and organisations.

The Medical Council has been following its current statement of strategy since 2019. This new strategic plan is the fourth since the introduction of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 and will be a progression of the previous 2019 – 2023 strategy. 

President Dr Suzanne Crowe encouraged members of the public to participate in the survey: “Our draft strategy is the result of an extensive development process, during which we’ve already worked with many of our stakeholders.  Insights on this draft will be invaluable in shaping the final strategic plan, which will be our organisation’s roadmap for the next five years. I would invite anyone who has an interest in the remit of the Medical Council to review and have their say.”

Mr Colm O’Leary, Executive Director, Strategy and Business Services at the Medical Council, added: “We’ve undertaken a comprehensive engagement process to inform the development of this strategy, and this draft reflects the feedback that we have already received.  This public consultation is the last step to ensure that we have it right before we finalise. We’re grateful to the medical practitioners, public and patient representatives, and other stakeholders who have already contributed to our online questionnaire or provided inputs at our stakeholder roundtable meeting last year.”

The public consultation survey questionnaire is available here – https://medicalcouncil.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2gXUxdFwYpfl9JQ

The draft strategic plan is available here – medical-council-draft-statement-of-strategy-for-public-consultation.pdf (medicalcouncil.ie)

The recently published Medical Council Workforce Intelligence Report for 2023 highlights the “continuing lack of an effective medical workforce plan in Ireland” the IMO warned today.

The Organisation said the report confirmed that there is “an unsustainable reliance” on too few doctors to meet consistently rising demand.

The IMO said the report highlights significant data that should inform policy around medical workforce planning and emphasises the challenges the medical workforce is facing across all specialties.

Dr Denis McCauley, IMO President, said the Medical Council document “emphasises the scale of the challenge and the urgent need for action”.

“In particular it confirms our own findings of the over-reliance the health system has on our NCHD colleagues, and the very significant issues faced by NCHDs”

According to the IMO, research it conducted in 2024 shows that 83 per cent of NCHDs are working excessive, illegal and unsafe working hours in contravention of the Organisation of Working Time Act which is showing an increase in illegal working hours since 2023.

“The Medical Council data confirms our reliance on international doctors to deliver our health services, but their commitment to our patients is not matched by the HSE or the Government who are failing to provide them with training opportunities and career structures.”

Dr McCauley said: “We have a growing population which increases the demand for healthcare. The Government must take note of the data in this report to address what is a crisis in medical workforce planning.”

 He added that consultants were also experiencing intense pressure, with many retiring early as a result. “Consultants regularly work above and beyond their contracted hours yet are consistently and incorrectly faced with charges of low productivity. This is unacceptable,” he said.

The Medical Council has today published its new sanctions guidance, which comes into effect immediately.

In cases where a complaint about a doctor is deemed serious enough to be referred to the Medical Council’s fitness to practise committee, an inquiry may take place. At a fitness to practise inquiry, both parties are given the opportunity to present their case before the Medical Council’s fitness to practise committee. Should there be a finding by the committee that a doctor’s fitness to practise is impaired, the Medical Council must then decide the appropriate sanction(s) to impose. The new sanctions guidance is designed to assist the Council in making this decision. 

The Medical Council stated it “believes that it is important to be as transparent as possible, and that the new sanctions guidance will also be of assistance to the medical profession, their representatives, and members of the public”. The document covers:

• the purpose of sanctions;
• the approach taken to sanctions;
• factors to be considered when deciding on sanctions;
• cases which may result in a more serious sanction being imposed.

The Medical Council may revise its sanctions guidance as and when it determines necessary.

Ms Mairead Britton-Doyle, Executive Director, Fitness to Practise and Monitoring at the Medical Council, said: “We’re pleased to launch this revised guidance today. We have focused on clarifying the existing guidance and increasing transparency around the Medical Council’s role in the fitness to practise process. This document aims to be more accessible for both the public and doctors and will help those engaging with the Medical Council to better understand our processes.”

Dr Suzanne Crowe, President, Medical Council, added: “One of the important statutory functions placed on the Medical Council is determining a doctor’s fitness to practise following the investigation of a complaint and fitness to practise inquiry. We’re very much aware of the difficulties that can be involved in going through the fitness to practise process for both doctors and complainants.

“The publication of this guidance today increases the transparency around decision-making processes of the Council when it comes to sanctioning a doctor. Indemnifiers are there for doctors to engage with for support, guidance, and representation throughout the fitness to practise inquiry process, which is complex and legalistic.”

The guidance is available here: https://www.medicalcouncil.ie/existing-registrants-/complaints/guidance-on-sanctions-imposed-by-the-medical-council.pdf