Vol. 543 No. 3
117 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will establish an independent investigation into the appointment of a person (details supplied) by the South Eastern Health Board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27088/01]
I refer the Deputy to the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 460 of 6 November 2001.
I understand that the South Eastern Health Board has established a help line for patients who may have concerns in relation to their contact with this doctor and any queries which may arise are being dealt with as a matter of urgency.
As the Deputy may be aware, any doctor wishing to practice medicine in Ireland must be registered on the Register of Medical Practitioners, maintained by the Medical Council. As I indicated in my reply to Parliamentary Question
No. 460 the doctor in question was registered with the Medical Council and a copy of his registration was forwarded to the South Eastern Health Board by the Medical Council on 13 April 2000, that is prior to his taking up duty with the South Eastern Health Board on the 17 April 2000.
However, I have asked officials of my Department to examine the circumstances surrounding this matter with the relevant parties in order to determine how best to strengthen existing recruitment procedures.
