A chara, – The exodus of newly graduated health care workers in Ireland is sadly not limited to medical doctors. As a newly graduated occupational therapist, a majority of my peers have left Ireland to seek employment abroad. This is due to a number of factors, chief among them the absence of basic grade therapy posts. The enthusiasm and creative thinking of new healthcare graduates is vital to maintaining a vibrant, progressive and modern health service. It strikes me as exceptionally wasteful and short-sighted that other nations are the major beneficiaries of the significant investment Ireland has made in our training and development as clinicians.
The current health care system is failing. It will take creative thinking, novel ideas and passion to put it right. A generation of allied health professionals, medics, nurses and other health and social care workers are departing a stagnating health service which cares little for facilitating our professional development. We want to work hard and contribute and shape the future – it is such a shame we cannot do it here. – Is mise,