Nearly one in four doctors reported working more than 48 hours per week, according to the latest report from the Medical Council, reports RTE.
The 2024 Medical Workforce Intelligence Report highlighted that doctors in the fields of surgery, obstetrics, and gynaecology were most frequently working beyond the 48-hour weekly limit.
Approximately 45% of those who disclosed working over 48 hours per week said they were directly involved in patient care, reports RTE.
The report also noted that about 26.1% of doctors said they struggled to provide adequate care to a patient at least once weekly, while 33.6% said they never encountered such issues.
Close to three-quarters (73.0%) pointed to “pressure on workloads” as the main challenge in offering adequate care at least once a week, reports RTE.
In 2024, there were 20,962 clinically active doctors in Ireland, and the report showed that 78.8% remained on the Medical Council Register in the previous year.
The average age of practicing doctors was recorded at 43.7 years, with more than 20% aged 55 or older, reports RTE.
Male doctors made up just over half of the workforce (52.8%) with more than 11,000 practitioners, while female doctors represented 47.2% with over 9,900.
Almost half of the doctors were employed in general practice (25.9%) and medicine (23.4%).
Surgery was the third most common specialty, accounting for 11.9% of all practicing doctors, reports RTE.
In Dublin, nearly 8,990 doctors were registered, which made up 42.9% of the country’s total, whereas Leitrim had just 34, or 0.2%.
The report stated that 27.8% of doctors had obtained their “international basic medical qualification” outside of Ireland, the UK, or the EU, reports RTE.
That figure has steadily increased, up from 25.7% in 2023 and 23.3% in 2022.
Among internationally qualified doctors, nearly 40% earned their credentials in Pakistan, while 21.3% obtained them in Sudan, reports RTE.
Responding to the findings, Medical Council CEO Dr Maria O’Kane said there has been a “phenomenal increase” in the number of doctors registering with the Council in recent years.
She added: “Despite there being over 30,000 doctors on the register at the end of 2024, our research today shows that only 20,692 doctors report being clinically active in Ireland in the same year,” reports RTE.
Dr O’Kane said the Medical Council’s data closely mirrors last month’s report on General Practice in Ireland and “shares the same views on the urgent need for strategic, sustainable investment in training, recruitment, and retention – for GPs and other doctors alike”, reports RTE.
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