Michael McHale , 2025-05-20 07:32:00
IHCA calls for positions to be approved more quickly as figures provided to it show that, at the end of last year, 395 consultant posts were filled by temporary and locum staff
Almost half of vacant consultant posts recorded at the end of last year had been unfilled for at least 12 months, a new report has shown.
Of the 309 posts marked as vacant last December, 142 of them – 46 per cent – had remained unfilled for at least one year. A total of 87 posts – 28 per cent of all vacant roles – were vacant for 18 months or more.
The latest Medical Workforce Analysis Report by the HSE’s National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP) unit found that the highest proportion of posts unfilled for at least 18 months were in the field of emergency medicine, which makes up 5.3 per cent of these long-term vacancies.
This was followed by radiology (4.1 per cent) pathology (3.7 per cent) and psychiatry (3.5 per cent).
In the report a vacant post is defined as a position that has been approved by the HSE’s Consultants Applications Advisory Committee (CAAC) but is currently unfilled.
While 309 consultant posts were recorded as vacant, 287 new and replacement positions were approved by the CAAC last year, down significantly on the 393 posts approved in 2023.
Of these 278 posts approved in 2024, 148 were new rather than replacement consultant posts.
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) 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.
The group said that plans by the Department of Health to hire at least 125 new consultants on public-only contracts in each quarter of this year will only result in a net increase of 49 whole-time equivalent positions by next January.
They highlight that this is in stark contrast to a pledge by the former Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to hire an additional 2,000 consultants in the seven years to 2020, which would equate to around 300 new posts per annum.
Additional figures supplied by the NDTP unit found that, at December 2024, there were a further 395 posts filled by temporary and locum consultants, with an additional 47 jobs filled by agency staff.
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.
“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,” said IHCA president Prof Gabrielle Colleran.
“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.”
In his foreword to the report, medical director of HSE NDTP, Prof Anthony O’Regan, noted the progress made in increasing consultant figures in recent years, but highlighted that more work is needed to bring Ireland in line with our European neighbours.
“The number of consultants employed has increased dramatically since 2018; from 3,089 to 4,620,” he said.
“This growth has been faster than the growth in population resulting in the number of consultants per 100,000 increasing from 63.8 to 86.3 over the same period.
“There was a nine per cent increase in the number of consultants employed between 2023 and 2024 and an eight per cent increase per annum between 2020 and 2024.
“While the expansion of the consultant workforce is to be welcomed it still remains below comparator countries.”
