Featured image: Letterkenny University Hospital Emergency Dept.
Letterkenny University Hospital has welcomed 66 new junior doctors as part of the annual July changeover.
Each year, Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors (NCHDs) are sent to a different hospital in the country for a rotation of three, six or 12 months.
Doctors who began at LUH on Monday will be working in areas including Medical, Emergency Department, Anaesthetics, Paediatric, Orthopaedic, Surgical, Haematology/Oncology and Obstetrics/Gynae.
“NCHDs form a very important part of every hospital’s clinical team and make an enormous contribution to patient care. In LUH we have a comprehensive NCHD induction programme in place to help our NCHD colleagues adapt to their new workplace and we wish them every success on their placements in Letterkenny,” a Saolta spokesperson told Donegal Daily.
D Induction session with all the new NCHDs. Photo: Letterkenny University Hospital Emergency Dept. / X
The Letterkenny ED has also welcomed two trainees under the RCPI Core Specialist Training Programme in Emergency Medicine programme (CSTEM) for the first time.
“LUH has been recently been recognised as a CSTEM Emergency Department following an inspection process. A nominated trainer in the ED will act as educational supervisor for CSTEM trainees,” the spokesperson added.
LUH welcomes two CSTEM trainees. Photo: Letterkenny University Hospital Emergency Dept. / X
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has warned that urgent cultural and systemic change are needed to convince non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) to stay practising in the Irish health system.
Following changeover day, the IMO said that the ongoing recruitment freeze means that NCHDs are being forced to work even longer hours and additional shifts at very short notice.
Dr. Rachel McNamara, Chair of the NCHD Committee of the IMO, said: “Changeover Day sees thousands of NCHDs rotate around the country with few meaningful practical supports, upending family life and causing a huge amount of frustration. In addition, most graduate doctors are entering the workforce with huge debts which will take years to repay. If we want to retain our doctors and sufficiently recruit for the future, it is imperative that we change the way we treat them.”
Meanwhile, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has welcomed “significant improvement” in Emergency Department overcrowding across HSE West and North West hospitals.
Minister Donnelly updated Cabinet with information showing reductions in trolley numbers, as measured daily by the Health Service Executive (HSE), in most hospitals.
West and North West hospital Emergency Departments recorded 26% fewer patients waiting on trolleys for the first five months of the year, meaning there were 3,363 fewer patients waiting on trolleys at 8am across these hospitals compared to the same period last year.
The Department of Health reports the number of patients on trolleys in the first five months of the year is down 14% nationally. This meant there were 7,800 fewer patients waiting for hospital beds at 8am nationally, while 62,000 more patients presented to emergency departments compared to last year.
The INMO Trolley Watch figures recorded 2991 patients on trolleys and overflow wards in the ED in Letterkenny in the first half of this year. The 2023 total for the 12 months of 2023 at LUH was 5,448.
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