I would advise that all concerned should consider a civil action against the HSE.

The only thing that they seem to be able to do consistently well is to cough up hundreds of thousands in compensation for their woeful mistakes and incompetence!

Seriously this not much more than any other organisations cock up, there are many exceptional nurses that could do your job at this level, You need to readjust your level of self importance you will get your offer do not worry, you are needed I totally agree but we as a country pay out senior health care staff far too much money than any other european country and if you are not careful positions will indeed be filled by doctors of exceptional quality from other countries.

@Fr Tod Umptious:

I disagree that it is “not much more than any other organisation’s cock up” – if this was a private sector company heads would be rolling as a result of this clear ineptitude. I am not saying errors never occur in other organisations, my point is that there should be some accountability for a mistake such as this, even if only to discourage further errors in the future.

I do not doubt for a second that there are many nurses who could easily do the jobs we all hope to commence in July. However, as we have specifically been trained to carry out these duties, and as the Intern programme is in itself a continuation of our training, I am not entirely certain what the issue is?

I also take offense to the insinuation that I am self-important – this is absolutely not the case, nor have I implied it to be so anywhere in my above statement. My issue is that it is unacceptable for hundreds of us to receive job offers, base plans on these, move house based on these offers, reject other job offers (from for example the NHS), only for the offers to be rescinded at the absolute last minute prior to contract signing with minimal explanation as to what problem has occurred. I do not think that is in any way unreasonable.

Finally, this issue is not about “senior healthcare staff”, it is about Interns. It also in no way references how much we are paid. This discussion is not about doctors from other nations coming to work in Ireland, and at no point was there an issue that doctors from elsewhere would instead be offered these jobs and we would all be turfed out. While I am sure you mean well, it would have been greatly appreciated if threatening tones such as “if you are not careful” had been replaced with some positivity/support with regards to the current predicament.

You received a coveted place in an Irish Medical school due to an out of date system that largely ignores vocational interest and instead reward the ability to recall fact and data. At a phenomenal cost to the Irish taxpayer you enter a profession where you are guaranteed to earn multiples of average earnings and then you whinge when theres a delay of five days in your appointment contracts.
Just remember that this State is technically bankrupt and we should, in reality be asking you to repay Society for your education over a period of around ten years before you earn any more than basic income.
Less criticism and more respect would be an appropriate form of behaviour.

Hey jr Doc
Ignore richard Mark Rodgers he is rude for the sake of it . I wish you well and your colleagues too, it is a nightmare situation to find yourselves in at the brink of your life long career. I am sure it will be sorted . Good luck for your future and I am sure you did not rely on luck to get to where you are today . Hard work and study and deserves the respect that entails.

https://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/world/greek-election-blog-2012/video/2012/jun/15/greece-hospital-austerity-cuts-video
Is this the future of our HSE ?

Richard, have you read any of the comments above? Or even the article? Some docs might not actually have a job after this, but will have turned down foundation doctor programmed in the UK, thinking they have a job in Ireland. Others will have paid for accommodation in towns that they might not ultimately end up working in due to this mistake. These docs are not guaranteed a job. As regards wages – some will be working up to 80 or 90 hours a week for those wages you begrudge them. Get over yourself and lose the chip on your shoulder.

Richard Mark Rogers,

It is not our fault that we got our places in medical school through an out-of-date system – we did what we had to do to get in. I received a coveted place in medical school due to hard work. When I did my Leaving Cert I worked exceedingly hard. I sacrificed everything so that I might have the chance to study medicine. The entry process for medicine in almost every country looks at your grades – you may have to do interviews and other entry tests however there is still a large focus on your results in exams such as the Leaving Cert or your previous college degree.

For the last six years I have spent most my time studying. I have spent my summer holidays working on various projects –dissection competitions, extra qualification exams, clinical audits and going to various hospitals both here and abroad to try and gain experience which would make me a better doctor. I was not an exception – vocational interest is high.

An interesting fact about this is that if I continued to work full-time in July in my former job as a cleaner I would earn more money than an intern working in the Irish medical system would, and indeed, have better hours! It is also likely that by the time I reach consultant level (possibly around 10- 15 years from now) the system and its pay system will have changed completely.

My problem with the interngate situation is how little information we were given – we got sent an unsigned email after office hours so that no one was contactable. Many of us were due to sign contracts the next morning at 9am and had travelled from all over the country at great personal expense to be in the appropriate place to do so. Many people had also put down deposits on accommodation and signed leases. Another part of my problem with the situation is that almost everybody who rang the HSE yesterday was given a different explanation as to why the jobs were changing and until the IMO and the media got involved few clear answers were given.

Throughout my college years I have stepped away from the HSE bashing that takes place. But this occurrence makes me pause. Why would I want to stay and work in a country where my employer makes errors such as this? I respect the HSE and try not to criticise it (working in hospital systems in other countries has made me realise that no system is flawless and indeed many are worse than ours!!) But I would like some respect back – would it have been so hard to tell us what was going on and to give a proper apology?

I WANT to work in Ireland. I WANT to repay the country which so generously educated me. But it is situations like this which make this a difficult option for me. All I want to do is make people better.

Aussie did you ever make a mistake? Sometimes admitting to the making of errors requires courage and integrity…..particularly when people like yourself…… Perfectionist that you are…are lying in wait with the easy and cheap comment!

Richard
I have made plenty of mistakes and errors in judgement , I certainly am not perfect and never claimed to be. I suggest that you have misplaced loyalty to whoever nameless civil servant who made this ”mistake” . They are wrong to be playing with people’s lives like this. I can only imagine the hurt and upset and confusion this email has caused them . Imagine if they had gone to the expense of securing accomodation near their new appointment… The person who made this ”mistake”is already in a job.

Can you imagine an intern straight out of college taking legal action against the only body in Ireland who is in a position to employ them. What intern would want that on their record with their employer…. ‘troublemaker’. The HSE should acknowledge that they are responsible for this and they should automatically compensat (a small sum) the students for the stress this has caused and request those who have to exit a residential lease as a consequence of being relocated to another hospital to provide the documentation to enable a straightforward repayment of their out of pocket expense. Something straightforward would mean their would be no legal expenses on the HSE trying to defend this breach of contract if the interns as a whole take a class action.

That’s a pathetically untrue statement when you examine the enormous pool of data that is generated within our Health Services and compared to other jurisdictions. It’s so easy to be a hurler on the ditch in Ireland. Basically you need a computer, lots of time and a wingers attitude.

I though that doctors treat patient in our Health Services rather than plonker Administrators plonker.

How attractive do you think the HSE is when the simple matter of recruiting a known number of doctors from a known number of candidates in a captive audience is too much for them?

The idea that doctors in the HSE are overpaid and have it handy is simply delusional – if it were true, there wouldn’t be any problem in recruiting or retaining doctors at every level.