Vol. 529 No. 1
612 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason almost a third of all specialists registrars and senior registrar posts here are vacant with significant shortages in some specialties, as set out in the latest official Comhairle na nOspidéal statistics. [1404/01]
The system of postgraduate medical training in Ireland is changing broadly in line with changes in the UK. Comhairle na nOspidéal has now approved approximately 600 senior-specialist registrar posts. There has been a noticeable expansion in higher specialist trainee numbers in recent years. Most specialties – other than pathology and other medical specialties – now have formed schemes of higher specialist training with senior/specialist registrar posts. Approximately 400 such posts are in place and it is expected that further developments across other specialties will lead to the conversion of more NCHD posts to senior-specialist registrar posts. The current level of NCHD vacancies in public hospitals is less than 1%.
