A Wexford-based General Practitioner, Dr. George Leslie Thomas Prekattil, originally from Kerala, India, is creating an organisation to champion the cause of Indian doctors already employed in the Irish health system. He maintains that by addressing certain barriers to recruitment, Ireland may be able to attract hundreds more doctors from India. He cites two main hurdles: delay in the assessment and registration process, and a lack of clarity regarding exam schedules making it challenging for many to plan their career path in Ireland.
At present, a little over 300 Indian-qualified doctors are working in Ireland, a vastly smaller number than the 1,850 from Pakistan or 1,060 from Sudan. The significant difference lies in the recognition of internships served by Sudanese and Pakistani doctors, among others, as qualifying them for work in Ireland. This doesn’t hold true for Indian doctors, who mostly need to take additional exams due to their internships not being recognised as equivalent to Irish ones.
Dr. Prekattil is hopeful following the Irish Medical Council’s recent positive engagement with these issues. They have shown serious commitment towards mitigating some of the challenges faced by doctors and are expected to continue discussions that may lead to improvements.
However, the Irish Medical Council had twice reviewed the data supplied by the Medical Council of India regarding the country’s internship programme. Both times they identified notable differences between the Indian internship programme and the Irish Council’s standards, resulting in the group’s expert opinion that an Indian internship holds insufficient grounds for being deemed equivalent to an Irish one. The Council does not anticipate this stance changing soon.
Dr. Prekattil maintains hope for increased interaction with the newly formed Indian Doctors Association, Ireland. He suggests this could allow for the Medical Council to develop a deeper comprehension of the Indian medical education systems. This mutual understanding, he believes, would be advantageous for both parties.
Furthermore, Dr. Prekattil is urging the council to hasten their responses and reduce waiting times associated with documentation, registration protocols and the scheduling of exams. He believes that if the process is simplified and doctors are welcomed to register, it could greatly facilitate their initiation into Irish medical practice. This measure would be particularly supportive to Indian physicians wanting to practice in Ireland.