GPs may have to reapply for medical licences

A former secretary-general of the Department of Health, Mr Jerry O'Dwyer, has been given the task of reviewing the Medical Practitioners Act of 1978.

A new Bill is expected before the Dail in October, according to a report in Medicine Weekly.

The review has been given added impetus by yesterday's revelations about the locum pathologist who worked in the Southern and North Western Health Board areas. A looming medical manpower crisis, expected to create major difficulties within the health services from July 1st, is another reason for urgency.

The new Bill proposes the extension of the temporary registration of non-EU doctors for three years. These form the backbone of the health service outside the Dublin area.

Prof Gerard Bury, president of the Medical Council, has welcomed the autumn publication of the newly proposed legislation. The council has met the Department of Health a number of times recently to discuss the contents of the proposed Bill.

A priority for the council is to obtain legislative backing for the new Health Procedures Committee. This has been set up on an ad-hoc basis to deal with the increasing numbers of doctors whose fitness to practise is compromised by ill health.

Referring to the forthcoming review, the Minister for Health yesterday confirmed that "proposals have arisen to ensure that reaccreditation and recertification for doctors occur on a regular basis throughout their careers, as a competency assurance measure".

This is a clear signal that doctors will no longer have an option whether to engage in continuing professional development (CPD). While the vast majority do, it is expected that the new Act will enforce a system of rolling CPD evaluation over a five-year period.

It will be compulsory for all general practitioners and specialists. Doctors are likely to be given limited (five-year) licences to practise, and the renewal of the licence will be dependent on a new system of reaccreditation.

Another issue raised by the case of the 78-year-old pathologist is that of a system of cross reference between the Medical Council in the State and other medical licensing authorities throughout the world. At present, it is possible for a doctor to have been disciplined in Canada, for example, and to start a new career in the Republic.

The new Act may also enforce an age limit over which a medical practitioner may no longer be licenced. While experience is invaluable in medicine, it may be that with the rapid change in medical knowledge, the value of such experience is outweighed by an inability to keep up to date.