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Doctors without insurance 'can and will cause damage'

Only a ‘tiny’ number of doctors are practising without insurance but they ‘can and will cause damage’, Fine Gael health spokesperson Dr James Reilly has said.

Anecdotal estimates put the number of uninsured doctors at around 40 or 50. In particular, the legislation would protect the public from doctors who flew in and out of Ireland to see patients, said Dr Reilly.

“It is needed because there have been incidences of damage done to patients by doctors with no indemnity. It is a glaring loophole that needs to be closed-off. The Bill will make it a criminal offence to have no insurance.” He added the Bill would require no change to the type of cover required.

Figures compiled by Irish Medical Times indicate more than 15,400 Irish doctors have insurance – about 5,000 more than various reports suggest are working in Ireland.

Medisec said it covers one-third of the market with almost 1,000 members. The Medical Protection Society said it has almost 2,500 practising GP members and more than 5,200 members who are hospital doctors. A spokesperson said it used a marketing company in Ireland that puts the number of practising GPs at 3,600.

However, this figure is at odds with other estimates. The Fás report entitled A Quantitative Tool for Workforce Planning in Healthcare: Example Simulation, published earlier this year, put the figure at 2,500.

The discrepancy may partially be explained by the fact that its hospital doctor members could also be covered by the State’s Clinical Indemnity Scheme.
It has 6,700 members, including public health practitioners.

The Medical Defence Union would not say how many members it had because it was ‘commercially confidential’ and ‘not publicly available’.

Fine Gael proposed the Medical Indemnity Bill last month and it was backed by Health Minister Mary Harney. Under the Bill the Medical Council would have the power to set levels of insurance to be held by different types of doctor.

Written evidence of insurance would have to be shown to the Council before it could issue a certificate to practise. The Bill is expected to reach committee stage in January.

Posted in Regulation on 24 November 2009
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