Ireland takes action to strengthen international partnerships on health workforce development
A new international training programme in Ireland supports universal health coverage.
Dr. Muhammad Umair, from Pakistan, came to Ireland for his fellowship in general surgery through a new international training programme: “I’m looking forward to returning to my hometown and applying what I’ve learned in Ireland at the University Care Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan.”
Next year Dr. Umair will graduate from the International Medical Graduate programme, an initiative of the Government of Ireland that gives doctors from low- and middle-income countries the opportunity to gain a range of clinical experience and training that is not easily available in their own country. While they go through the programme, doctors like Muhammad provide services to people in Ireland that might have otherwise not been available.
In the past Ireland has not been able to produce enough doctors and nurses to address the needs of its own health system. The country was forced to recruit abroad – weakening the health systems in other countries.
WHO Code on recruitment
Based on OECD figures from 2008, 35% of doctors registered in Ireland were foreign-trained: many of these came from low-income countries that face a high demand for health workers. In 2013, the Irish government recommitted to the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. Governments agreed these principles in 2010 as part of the effort to address the global shortage of health workers and find ethical solutions to health worker migration, in order to balance the health systems needs of high- and low-income countries, so they can all run effectively.
Ethical plan
With the WHO Code as the guidepost, Ireland developed a plan to handle international recruitment in an ethical manner. The new plan included a restructuring of the domestic training programme to incentivize Irish doctors and nurses to stay in Ireland and a way for foreign doctors to undergo specialist training in Ireland, further their expertise, provide care, and return to their home countries afterwards. Dr. Umair works in general surgery and he has noticed that: “The spectrum of diseases is different here from what we see back home, so I’ve learned quite a bit.”
Ireland has now increased production of nurses and doctors to the level required for self-sufficiency. James Campbell, Director of the Health Workforce at WHO, applauds Ireland’s efforts saying, “The WHO Code increased awareness and accountability, garnering commitment from countries to take strategic steps towards ethical health care recruitment that takes into account the needs of source countries. Ireland’s new policies towards health workforce development reflect what can be accomplished through implementing the WHO Code.”
Expansion of programme
The International Medical Graduate programme requires participants to return home after their training, sending qualified doctors back into health systems that desperately need them. Dr. Umair was able to finish his studies in Ireland, and to bring his wife and son with him – a testimony to creative, person-centered, solutions in health care recruiting. The programme has scaled up from 27 doctors in 2013 to 112 in 2014. The Irish government plans to expand the programme next year to extend to other countries facing significant health worker shortages.
Gerry McWeeney, WHO Programme Manager for Strategic Relations with Countries, emphasizes how important it is for governments to put in practice the provisions of the WHO Code saying, “Ireland has taken strides to improve universal health coverage by committing to the WHO Code not just through words but by actions too. In 2013 Ireland was awarded for its progress in health workforce development by the Health Worker Migration Policy Council.”