LAAY CHAMBERS, Ireland (Reuters) – Irish women are still waiting more than a year to get their hysteroscopic procedures delayed by the government because of a shortage of doctors.
U.S. and Irish doctors have been operating at a fraction of the rate of the rest of the world, but the Irish government says it will soon fix the issue.
Last month, the Irish parliament passed a law to require hospitals to increase the number of doctors on staff to about 300 by 2019 and the number by 2020.
But the government has faced criticism from doctors and the Irish Medical Association for failing to meet the deadline.
The number of Irish doctors has risen only slightly since the previous law was passed in April, but in recent months the Irish medical association has raised alarm about a shortage.
“There are many Irish doctors who have been working hard to make a difference in Ireland’s health care system,” said Dr. Eamonn Cavanagh, the association’s chief executive.
“Unfortunately the government is ignoring the will of the people.”
Ireland is the world’s fifth-largest economy and one of the most highly developed countries in the world.
But the country has been struggling to attract enough medical professionals.
In recent years, the number who joined private health insurance plans in Ireland has fallen to just 3 percent of the population.
Many of the doctors who are now practicing in the United States are not qualified for Irish citizenship.
They can be paid on a per-hour basis, and doctors are also not required to have an Irish passport.
The lack of foreign doctors has forced hospitals in the Irish capital to rely more heavily on foreign residents, who typically make up a larger share of the hospital workforce.
Many hospitals are now charging them to stay.
They are also charging a much higher premium than in the U.S., where the cost of care is often much lower.
The government has said that if doctors cannot make up the difference, it would have to consider hiring from outside the country.
But many doctors in Ireland said they would be unable to pay the higher premium because they had no experience in the health care field.
The Irish Medical Board has warned that the government’s measures to increase doctors on the workforce could lead to a “huge surge” in new foreign medical students coming to Ireland.
Doctors have also raised concerns about the effect on Irish citizens.
“The only way that this (foreign medical students) will get a job is if they come here legally and then they come into Ireland legally,” said Gail Dolan, a professor of medicine at the University of Ulster.
“If they come in as students, they will not be allowed to get a license because it will not match up with what they know in Ireland.”
The government said it has already been talking to foreign countries about setting up their own accredited medical schools.
