Consultant posts need to be approved at faster pace – IHCA
Statement by the Irish Hospital Consultants Association on the release of Medical Workforce and Recruitment and Retention Reports from the HSE National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP) unit
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has said that the slowdown in the growth in the number of approved Consultant post needs to be addressed if the increasing demand for specialist hospital and community care is to be adequately met.
Commenting on the publication of two new reports from the HSE National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP) unit (here), the IHCA said that the growth rate in the number of consultant posts was just 4% in 2024, compared with and averaged 8% per annum over the 2020 to 2024 period and 6% per annum since 2015.
Last year saw a considerable drop in the number of new and replacement Consultant posts approved by the HSE’s Consultants Applications Advisory Committee (CAAC) – from 393 posts in 2023 to 287 posts last year, or a decrease of 27%. Of these 278 posts approved in 2024, just 148 were new rather than replacement Consultant posts.
According to the Consultant body, this dramatic fall is likely to worsen in 2025 and have a significant impact on both the retention of qualified specialists and the continued expansion of the Consultant workforce to meet demand growth. The Association said that while the Department of Health has this week set a target of hiring at least 125 new Consultants on the POCC23 in each quarter of 2025, this will only result in a net increase of 49 whole-time equivalent Consultants by January 2026.1 This is in sharp contrast to the previous Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly’s pledge to appoint 2,000 additional Consultants by 2030, or an additional 300 Consultants per annum.
In addition, the IHCA highlighted that separate data it obtained from the NDTP confirms there were 785 permanent Consultant posts not filled as needed at the end of December 2024, made up of 343 permanent Consultant posts that were vacant, a further 395 posts filled by temporary and locum Consultants, with an additional 47 posts filled by agency staff.2 Broken down by specialty, Psychiatry again had the highest percentage of posts either vacant or filled on a temporary basis at 28% (N=159 posts), followed by Emergency Medicine at 19% (N=39), Medicine at 18% (N=222) and Radiology also at 18% (N=73).
The Association said these vacant and temporary filled posts not only have a direct effect on the delivery of care to patients and waiting lists, but also impacts on the supervision and training of NCHDs, which in turn can result in patient and professional safety issues. The Medical Council in its recent workforce reports has also expressed its concern over the inability of the health service to adequately fill these vacant Consultant posts.3
President of the IHCA Prof Gabrielle Colleran said: “The low number of Consultant posts in Ireland compared with our EU neighbours, combined with 785 approved posts that are not filled as needed, is impacting on patient care and contributing significantly to the unacceptable delays that patients experience when they need to access treatment. We must fill these vacant posts and recruit and appoint the required number of additional Consultants without delay.
“The Association has welcomed the appointment of additional Consultants in recent years, but Ireland still has the lowest number of medical specialists per 1,000 population in EU, approximately one-third below the European average.
“Addressing this specialist workforce deficit, in parallel with rapidly increasing the number of hospital beds, theatres, diagnostic and other facilities, will start the health service on its journey towards a better and more productive future. The Association remains ready to collaborate constructively with the HSE and Department of Health to achieve this aim.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
1. ‘Path to Universal Healthcare: Sláintecare & Programme for Government 2025+, Department of Health, 14 May 2025:
https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/14064_DoH_Path_to_Universal_Healthcare_Slaintecare__Programme_for_Gov_2025_V7_Web.pdf
2. HSE NDTP response to the IHCA, 6 March 2025: https://www.ihca.ie/_fileupload/hse-ndtp-response-to-ihca-q1-q4-consultant-posts-as-at-31122024-06032025.pdf
3. Medical Workforce Intelligence Report 2023, Medical Council, 15 August 2024: https://www.medicalcouncil.ie/news-and-publications/reports/medical-workforce-intelligence-report-2023.pdf