Dr Jane Buttimer's report on postgraduate medical education and training.
• The Department of Health and the Health Service Executive should develop graduate retention strategies to ensure that as many as possible of the doctors educated in Ireland and whose education has been funded by the State remain in or return to the Irish health service
• Some 700 Irish trained doctors based abroad may at least consider returning to work here
• Factors that would influence this would be availability of consultant posts. Consultant posts should be doubled in line with the Hanly report recommendations
• Training programme quality should be improved
• Posts with limited training value should be phased out
• Flexible training and working including a family-friendly work environment should be provided
• Department of Health should also consider the implications for medical education and training of the changing role of the private hospital sector and its potential contribution to enhancing medical education and training
• The postgraduate training system here is fragmented, investment has been inadequate with no specific allocation of funding for facilities on clinical sites and lecturers. This must be addressed
• General practice workforce requirements urgently need review - GP retirements will be significant over the next decade (40 per cent are due to retire within eight to 10 years) The HSE should implement the policy, previously adopted by the Department of Health, to increase the annual intake of GP trainees from 88 to 150 by 2008. This figure should be regularly assessed in line with health service workforce requirements
• An over-arching body should be established to co-ordinate and assist the delivery of medical education and training by the postgraduate training bodies