Many hospitals throughout the country continued to employ consultant locums, who are not on the specialist register, last year in contravention of HSE procedures, according to new data obtained by IMN.
According to HSE circular 14 / 2009, it is a mandatory requirement for all new appointees to permanent, temporary or locum consultant positions to be on the relevant specialist division of the register following the creation of the new medical practitioner register in March 2009.
The Medical Council has also advised that trainees should not fill locum consultant appointments of more than three months' duration.
However, data obtained by IMN through Freedom of Information showed that this was not the case in many hospitals throughout the country in 2010.
The figures show that none of the five locum consultants employed in Our Lady's Hospital, Navan in April last year were on the specialist division of the register.
The locums, which consisted of three anaesthesia and two medicine posts, were covering for consultants between 15 months and two years.
A Hospital board meeting for the month also revealed concern that the locum hired to cover consultant surgeon, Mr Joe McGrath was not on the specialist register.
“This may be problematic as previous indications have been that only persons on the specialist register will be hired as locums,” according to the minutes.
A total of four out of the 12 consultant locums in Sligo General Hospital were on the specialist division, one of whom was in the positions for nine months, while another was working for four month.
The Hospital had raised concern the previous year with National Director of Clinical Care, Dr Barry White about the the difficulty in attaining locum cover as a result of the new requirements resulting from the new register.
The figures show that the issue was pronounced in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, where 8 out of the 21 consultant locums employed in April 2010 were not on the specialist register, although all of these were in the position for three months or under.
Other hospitals where the problem existed included Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis; Cork University Hospital (CUH); Kerry General Hospital; and Waterford General Hospital.
In CUH one locum was in the position was in the position for three and a half years, while in Ennis one locum was in the position for five years and another for two and a half years
The Medical Council has previously expressed serious concern about medical practitioners, who are not in the Specialist Division, taking up a locum consultant appointments of more than three months' duration.
