A shortage of anaesthetists in one hospital is partly due to revised Medical Council guidelines on the appointment of temporarily registered doctors to locum consultant posts, it is claimed. The Medical Council says policies issued to hospital managers last April, and elaborated on early this month, are to benefit the public.
A spokesperson maintained that if the candidate had the appropriate qualification and recognised training standards, there should be no difficulty in the appointment.
According to the Southern Health Board, locum consultants have not been reappointed to posts they held prior to July due to "revised competency standards" from the Medical Council.
In Tralee General Hospital, Co Kerry, the number of anaesthetists has fallen from five to three. Patients scheduled for operations are being turned away, especially women with gynaeological problems, as there is no one to administer the anaesthetic, local Fine Gael TD Mr Jimmy Deenihan has claimed.
"We don't have enough anaesthetists in Ireland. People accepted in England are not accepted here," he said. The Southern Health Board says "all efforts" are being made to recruit consultants and one is to be appointed shortly.
The board says non-nationals are affected by the "new standards" as these are to be temporarily registered.