Sign up now for ease of access to The Medical Independent, Ireland’s most frequently published medical newspaper, delivering award-winning news and investigative reporting.
Established in 2010, along with its sister publication The Medical Independent, our stated aim is to investigate and analyse the major issues affecting healthcare and the medical profession in Ireland. The Medical Independent has won a number of awards for its investigative journalism, and its stories are frequently picked up by national digital, broadcast and print media. The Medical Independent is published by GreenCross Publishing.
Address: Top Floor, 111 Rathmines Road Lr, Dublin 6
Tel: 353 (01) 441 0024
GreenCross Publishing is owned by Graham Cooke.
Some 83 cases are waiting to be heard by fitness to practise (FTP) inquiry at the Medical Council.
Of these 83 referrals from the preliminary proceedings committee, 22 cases are ready to “proceed to be heard at this time by the committee”, according to a Council spokesperson.
There is no statute of limitations or similar restrictions applicable to these cases, according to the regulator. Last month, the Council was at “an advanced stage” in terms of preparing to hold FTP inquiries in line with physical distancing requirements.
“The public health restrictions relating to Covid-19 have had a significant
impact in relation to holding fitness to practise inquiries since the start of the pandemic restrictions in March,” stated the spokesperson.
“There has been three fitness to practise committee callovers which took place virtually over the Zoom platform and four cases have concluded by way of section 67 undertakings following consideration by the committee.
“Work is at an advanced stage to hold inquiries in line with physical distancing requirements. Inquiries will take place in Kingram House in the inquiry room which is being adapted to address the new requirements.
Larger inquiries may take place in another location outside of Kingram House and several options have been sourced. A number of options for inquiries have been explored and they will take place in person or in a hybrid model of in person with some witnesses contributing virtually.”
The Council said the priority in resuming inquiries is the health and safety
of all parties.
In 2019, there were 34 FTP inquiries completed, and 71 pending by the end of the year. The average number of days per inquiry was 2.2. During the year, the Council also received a record number of complaints (431).
The number of practitioners subject to complaints was 485, representing around 2 per cent of all doctors, which is consistent with previous years.
New GPs should be prepared for the practicalities and business aspects of running a practice, according...
There was almost a three-fold increase in the number of new post applications made to the.
The ICGP is examining alternative pathways for entry into general practice training as part of efforts...
In December, the HSE released part of an external review into the case of 'Brandon', a...
The evidence on doctor burnout “should scare us and concern us”, the Director of the RCSI...
A review of public health governance structures and addressing “longstanding” IT infrastructure...
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.