Half of all sanctions issued against doctors in this State are kept hidden from the public, figures obtained by The Irish Times show.
In some years, as few as 20 per cent of sanctions are made public.
The figures were disclosed in response to a Freedom of Information request. It formed part of an investigation by The Irish Times and 50 other media outlets into the sharing of data on doctors’ sanctions between international jurisdictions.
The investigation uncovered dozens of cases across Europe and beyond of doctors working in one country after being struck off in another, with the public none the wiser.
RM Block
This includes an eye doctor struck off in Norway for lacking basic skills who was able to stay registered in the Republic for two years. In another case, a children’s heart surgeon remains on the Irish register despite being found guilty of sexual misconduct by a UK medical tribunal.
The investigation also found a wide disparity in the amount of information medical regulators share with the public about sanctioned or suspended doctors.
Some countries, such as the UK, release large amounts of information about doctors’ disciplinary records to the public.
In the Republic, however, this information is only disclosed in limited circumstances.
Since 2014, 159 doctors have been sanctioned by the Medical Council, with punishments ranging from “admonishment” to permanent removal from the register.
Details of only 81 of those cases have been made public on the council’s website.
In 2016, 24 doctors were sanctioned, but details of only four cases were published. In 2023, 15 doctors received punishments, but only three records were published.
Even when cases are published, the doctor is sometimes allowed to remain anonymous, making the records of little use from a patient safety perspective.
Of the disciplinary notifications made public by the council last year, a third did not include the doctor’s name.
This includes one case of a doctor who the High Court struck off after being found guilty of professional misconduct.
Details of disciplinary action taken against doctors are also sometimes available on the practitioner’s individual registration pages on the Medical Council website. This enables members of the public to search for their doctor and verify that they are properly registered.
However, details of sanctions are only published there if they alter a doctor’s right to practise. That means, in most cases, details of fines, censures, or guilty verdicts for professional misconduct are not available to the public. Neither are details of periods of suspension which have concluded.
Of the 34,383 doctors registered in the State, details of restrictions or sanctions were published in only 84 cases, or 0.2 per cent.
This figure also includes doctors who are subject to restrictions due to health reasons, rather than misconduct.
In a detailed response, the Medical Council outlined various considerations which must be taken into account before deciding to publish details of sanctioned doctors. These include privacy considerations, the proportionality of publication and “aggravating and mitigating factors”.
“In short, where the Medical Council is satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so, it publishes the sanction,” a spokeswoman said.
The council may also be prevented from publishing details by the High Court, which approves all serious sanctions against doctors.
Stephen McMahon, director of the Irish Patient Association, said patients have a right to know about sanctions imposed on doctors, including those imposed overseas. When this information is not provided, “patients cannot give truly informed consent”, he said.
However, recently passed legislation means the council will now be obliged to publish more information.
Previously, it had discretion over the publication of sanctions. Now, the council is usually obliged to publish higher-level sanctions “as a matter of course”, said the spokeswoman.
It will also have the power to publish all or parts of Fitness to Practise Committee Reports if it is judged in the public interest, she said.
