THE DEPARTMENT of Health is considering a radical restructuring of the role and office of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), The Irish Timeshas learned.
Current CMO Dr Jim Kiely is to take up a position as medical adviser to Irish Aid, the overseas development division of the Department of Foreign Affairs. He will leave the Department of Health in October.
Dr Kiely, who was granted a number of extensions to his initial contract, is a public health medicine specialist. There are five deputy CMOs working in the Department of Health, who also have a background and training in public health.
However, the structure and role of the office differs from its equivalents in the US and the UK. Both the chief medical officer for England and the surgeon general in the US, while acting in an advisory role to government, enjoy greater independence than the CMO here.
Prof Sir Liam Donaldson, the CMO for England, has a background in surgery and public health. His predecessor, Sir Kenneth Calman, was a cancer specialist before his appointment.
With the imminent departure of Dr Kiely, sources say the next appointee may well be a distinguished doctor from a speciality other than public health. While it is possible a temporary appointment will be made from the ranks of the deputy chief medical officers, this may be done to allow time for a fundamental restructuring of the CMO's office.
"The office is widely acknowledged to require a greater public profile," a senior medical source said yesterday. "It needs to have permission to comment openly and to question some Government decisions."
Although a chief medical officer is never placed under political pressure, it is thought the office has become overly insular. With the emergence of public health threats such as avian flu and other infectious diseases, a more prominent media role for the CMO is also required.
"The postholder must not only act in the public interest, but be seen to do so," the source added.
Consideration may also be given to reducing the number of deputy CMO posts from five to two while giving more responsibility to regional directors of public health.
An advertisement for a new CMO at the Department of Health is expected in the coming weeks.