Canadian attempt to recruit Irish doctors ‘threat’ to hospital staffing

A Canadian delegation will attempt to recruit Irish trained doctors to its health service next week in a move described by the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) as an “absolute threat” to staffing.

Newfoundland and Labrador Health Minister Tom Osborne will lead a four-day visit to Dublin, Limerick, Cork and Galway focused on doctors but also nurses.

Mr Osborne said they would hire any physicians but were specifically seeking Canadians who had studied in Ireland but whose return home had, in the past, been hindered by caps on foreign-trained staff.

“We are certainly not looking to raid Ireland of medical professionals,” he said. “We understand because we have our own challenges here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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“We haven’t in the past recruited in Ireland, we haven’t in the past recruited in other countries but we find ourselves in a desperate situation now.”

Mr Osborne said there were close cultural ties between the countries but he conceded working conditions would be an incentive for doctors to move from Ireland.

“The working conditions globally now are becoming challenging because there is a deficit of healthcare professionals in many countries,” he said.

“I know it’s very challenging right now in many of the Irish hospitals. While we have our challenges, it may be a little easier here.”

The Canadian delegation has contacted universities and medical professions but has not notified the Government.

It is just the latest campaign to lure Irish-trained doctors abroad to services perceived to have better working conditions. In October, billboards appeared in Dublin promoting Australia.

The Canadian visit has caused predictable concern, however, with the IMO saying the delegation had simply “smelt blood in the water” due to ongoing problems in the Irish health service.

“Sharks don’t circulate if there’s no reason,” said Dr Matthew Sadlier, chair of the IMO’s consultant committee who described the recruitment drive as a compliment to the standard of Irish medical training.

“They realise that we have a very unhappy workforce. They realise that our workforce is under very severe pressure. They know that our doctors and nurses are coming over to them regularly and leaving this country because we don’t feel sufficiently valued by our own employers.

“We have one Minister for Health coming over from Canada telling you you’re great and you have a Minister for Health in Ireland telling you don’t work enough hours.”

Doctors last week clashed with Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly after he asked them to work more over weekends to help deal with the crisis in emergency departments.

Dr Sadlier said the Canadian push, and doctors leaving the country generally, was an “absolute threat” to staffing in Irish hospitals.

“We do need doctors to go abroad to larger countries to get this experience [but] our problem is now they’re not coming back.”

A spokeswoman for the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said the Canadian visit was no surprise given nurses were also being offered generous packages in Australia, the UK and US.

“Irish trained nurses are telling us that the conditions they are working in are encouraging them abroad,” she said.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said that, in common with other health systems, Canada was seeking to address its staff shortage by recruiting overseas.

“Ireland similarly recruits a large proportion of healthcare staff from abroad. Of the nurses working in Irish hospitals, 43 per cent were trained abroad,” he said.

Of 2,605 newly registered doctors in 2021, 888 were Irish graduates and 1,717 were international graduates.

“The retention of healthcare workers is a priority for the Department of Health. Retention efforts by the HSE are in place with significant career development and progression and educational [and] development opportunities being offered.”