The publication of an expert stakeholder informed review of the surgery workforce in Ireland by the HSE has been welcomed by RCSI as an important opportunity to ensure that there are enough surgeons across all specialities to meet the projected needs of the population over the coming decades.

The Surgery Medical Workforce in Ireland 2024-2028 review was published by the HSE National Doctors Training and Planning.

The report recommends an increase in consultant and surgical trainee posts and a reduction in the system’s current over-reliance on non-training scheme doctors. This would ensure that the surgical workforce in Ireland is sufficient to meet the growing needs of the country’s population, to underpin the changes in the delivery of surgical care as outlined in the models of care for each speciality and to allow more sustainable on-call arrangements and improved work-life balance for surgeons.

Professor Deborah McNamara, President, RCSI, said: “The next two decades will see greater pressure on surgical care in Ireland because of our aging population, alongside a generational shift in the career expectations of surgeons. That is why this review of the workforce across all surgical specialities is so important. The review should inform planning and policy making across the health service, particularly in the context of the rollout of surgical hubs and the planned development of hospitals dedicated to elective surgical care.

“The review will also provide greater clarity for RCSI as the training body for surgery in ensuring that the surgical training programme for each speciality has the capacity to manage an expansion of the workforce while continuing to deliver excellence in surgical training for the benefit of patients.

“An increase in surgeon numbers is welcome, but to achieve the productivity improvements that are required, it is essential that additional access to theatres and hospital beds is provided. This requires not just additional infrastructure and equipment but also the appointment of other staff who are critical to the delivery of surgical care in specialties like nursing, anaesthesiology and HSCPs,” added Professor McNamara

The review was developed as part of a collaboration between the HSE’s National Doctors Training and Planning division, the national clinical programmes for surgery based at RCSI and a number of expert specialty representatives.