SBP editorial: Shortage of consultants poses risks to our health

Access to medical care requires an adequate number of doctors, with a mix of generalists and specialists.

Ireland has one of the lowest numbers of practising doctors in the EU, with just 2.8 per 1,000 population. Austria has 5.1; Germany has 4.1.

Medical unions and training bodies including the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) have issued various alarms about the medical recruitment ...