Independent MEP for Ireland South Michael McNamara has called for European regulation of disciplinary procedures for medical professionals.
In Ireland, the average waiting time for fitness-to-practice decisions and decisions for complaints against medical professionals has doubled over the past five years.
According to a Medical Council response to a Parliamentary Question posed by McNamara in 2023, when he was a TD for Clare, the average time to all decisions at Preliminary Proceeding Committees has increased from 24 to 48 weeks, which has led to McNamara calling for EU regulation.
Addressing the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, McNamara stated: “The length of time it takes for fitness-to-practice procedures and complaints made against doctors has increased twofold in the past five years. It takes a number of years in some instances. That means that doctors have this black mark hanging over them for long periods of time, waiting to clear their name. In some instances, doctors who are unfit to practice are allowed to practice for long periods of time”
A 2024 Medical Protection survey[1] of 114 practitioners who have been investigated by the Medical Council in the last five years, found that nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents considered quitting medicine due to their investigation, whilst one in ten (10%) either left or retired early. Just over 1 in 10 (12%) also reported experiencing suicidal thoughts during their investigation.
In the survey, 70% of respondents said the length of the investigation impacted on their mental health the most, with some investigations lasting several years. Respondents commenting anonymously spoke of feeling ‘guilty until proven innocent’, whilst others described Medical Council correspondence as ‘cold’, ‘legalistic’ and ‘hard to understand’.
McNamara concluded that “it is something that needs to be regulated at an EU level, when Member States such as Ireland are failing to regulate it properly nationally.”
