OVERSEAS doctors are accusing Irish consultants of racism and say they are denied access to senior posts in hospitals.

Foreign doctors, who staff more than half of all hospital jobs, say that they are blocked from consultant positions because Irish doctors “look after their own”.

“Overseas doctors are the victims of institutional racism and discrimination just because they are black,” said Altaf Naqvi, a consultant surgeon and chairman of the Overseas Medics of Ireland. Naqvi said the treatment of foreign doctors by consultants and health service employers was tantamount to “medical mafiasm”.

Foreign doctors form the backbone of the Irish health service, but hold few senior hospital posts, despite being qualified and experienced. Some 55% of non-consultant — or junior — doctors in Irish hospitals come from outside the EU, but only 1% of these foreign doctors are consultants. The remaining 99% of consultants are either Irish or from other EU countries.

“Permanent consultant appointments are controlled by influential Irish consultants,” said Naqvi, who in a previous study revealed that a third of junior doctors were bullied by senior consultants. He claimed experienced foreign doctors have worked for decades in Irish hospitals and secured Irish citizenship but still cannot attain consultant posts.

“It is a protectionist regime. Consultant posts are not advertised until an Irish candidate is ready to take up the job. Interviews with overseas doctors are held to fulfil the necessary equality and legal requirements, but in only 1% of cases will a foreign doctor get the job.”

Consultant appointments are required by law to be made through the Public Appointments Service.

The Health Service Executive said the recruitment process was open and completely free from discrimination, but foreign doctors — whose career progress is contingent on favourable references from senior consultants — say discrimination is rife.

“We are being treated like disposable paper cups,” said Syed Jaffry, the outgoing chairman of the Irish Medical Organisation’s Non-EU Graduates Advisory Committee, which met in Killarney last week.

“Discrimination is still a major problem for non-EU doctors working in Ireland. Only 1% become consultants, and even then it is only on a temporary or locum basis.

“It is a grave injustice and no one could deny that. The services that we provide should be recognised on a par with our Irish colleagues.”

Hospital consultants deny that they treat their junior colleagues badly or impede promotions. “Consultants are ap-pointed through a public process and there is no way that a candidate’s application could be influenced,” said Donal Duffy, secretary general of the Irish Hospital Consultants’ Association (IHCA), which represents almost 90% of Ireland’s 1,690 consultants.

“We are confident the best candidates get the job each time. The fact that training systems are different for Irish and non-national doctors is an issue to be addressed by the Irish Medical Council and the relevant training bodies.”

There are two separate training systems for Irish and non-EU doctors. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Ireland’s primary training body, accredits doctors with a certificate of specialist training (CST), once they have completed higher-level training. This allows junior doctors to compete for senior posts and the RCSI insists that CSTs are open to all candidates, regardless of nationality.

The college admits, however, that Irish doctors fare better than their foreign colleagues.

“There’s no doubt that the Irish are cuter. It is a system that favours the best, the brightest and the cutest,” said Arthur Tanner, director of surgical affairs at the Royal College of Surgeons. “There’s no doubt that the Irish are better at getting into higher training.”

The two-tier training system traps many foreign doctors in a rotation system, being moved every six months between hospitals without their training being recognised.

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