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The Medical Council investigated 32 people who were practicing medicine without a licence — with one person reported to gardaí — and helped gardaí with six criminal investigations last year.
The council’s annual report also shows more doctors on the council’s register last year than in 2022 — at 29,488 and 27,520 respectively.
It also received the highest number of complaints about doctors in five years at 353. Some 61 were referred to the Medical Council’s Fitness to Practise Committee for investigation.
This included 112 complaints about communication, 32 about a doctor’s skills, five about language skills, and 14 relating to criminal convictions.
In all there were 22,840 doctors clinically active and working last year, with 84.6% working in Ireland all or most of the time.
The proportion of female doctors continued to grow — with women accounting for 47% of clinically-active doctors across all age groups. Among doctors aged 35 or younger 52.9% are female.
Just over half of doctors actively working are on the specialist division, 33% on the general division and 16.1% on the trainee specialist division.
Council president Dr Suzanne Crowe said the report shows “in the majority of consultations and treatments” patients are satisfied.
“In a small number of cases, there is a need for a complaint to be raised, which can be made by contacting the doctor or hospital involved in your care to discuss your concerns directly,” she said.
Changes including a new liaison services have improved people’s experiences, she added.
“The Medical Council is here to investigate complaints of a serious nature about a doctor’s professional performance and conduct. We can take action where complaints are of a serious nature and raise concerns over a doctor’s fitness to practise, to determine if public safety is at risk,” she said.
Dr Crowe expects new legislation — Regulated Professions [Health and Social Care] Amendment Act 2020) — and other changes to mean faster processing of complaints.
“While there has been an increase in the number of complaints made in 2023, we must continue to bear in mind that this still relates to a very small percentage of all doctors and is not reflective of the vast majority of the profession,” she cautioned.
“The medical profession is a highly mobile, global workforce. Ireland continued to rely heavily on international medical graduates in 2023. It’s important that Ireland remains an attractive place for doctors and their families to stay and work here long-term.”