Deputy Michael Lowry has aid he was “saddened and shocked” to hear of the HSE’s plan to cut over half positions for newly-qualified doctors in Tipperary.
In July 2021, South Tipperary General Hospital will lose 10 of its current 19 intern doctors. ‘This is a short-sighted approach that will have detrimental consequences for both the patients and the hospital’ he says. Last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, hundreds of additional intern jobs were created, allowing every graduating doctor the chance to stay and work in Ireland. This year, as the pandemic and resultant health crisis continue, the decision has been made not to offer the additional jobs to the 2021 cohort of interns.
As a result of this decision, the vast majority of international graduating doctors will be forced to leave Ireland to work as doctors. Our health service will be left ever more understaffed – and most importantly, our patients will suffer.
Deputy Lowry is calling on Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to reverse this decision and allow these hundreds of doctors to stay and continue to serve the country they have come to call home.
