NON NATIONAL DOCTORS. That is what is missing from the headline. The medics were among 6 people investigated over a 5 year period, and ALL of them were NOT Irish. It is not clear if the sexual related complaints against the other 3 doctors were upheld (this is not made clear in the article, and as such the reader may incorrectly assume they were innocent when, rather, they just may not have been struck off).
Furthermore, the Medical Council (funded by doctors) does NOT inform the public in over 50% of cases where a doctor has engaged in inappropriate behaviour (ranging from sexual harrassment to sexual assault and rape). DUE TO THE DOCTOR'S RIGHT TO PRIVACY.
The doctor does not even get informed of a complaint against them for months or over a year in some cases. The victims are not informed if a court order has been sought to prevent the doctor from practising (and these orders are not always sought, even when an allegation is serious and contemporaneous evidence is provided). Victims are unable to speak publicly until a process is complete. No matter how long it takes.
Some doctors who have sanctions placed upon them are STILL allowed to practice. Not EVERY doctor who has been found to be sexually inappropriate or has proven to be a sexual predator gets struck off, and, as you can see, even when they have been struck off they are usually NOT named and can just go and practice elsewhere in another jurisdiction. For example, go from Dublin to Belfast. It is that simple for them in many cases.
The Medical Council states in this article today that they take complaints very seriously. I think if they did, however, it wouldn't take months or longer to even advance a complaint beyond the preliminary stage (after which the doctor is notified, NOT BEFORE). They say they can suspend any doctor for public safety, so why do they NOT do so in many cases?
No one knows who the hell is coming in here. Whether their qualifications are real. Whether they are sexual predators. That is the cold, harsh truth, and if you query it, YOU'RE the problem. Remember just last week, a Morcoccan doctor was convicted of raping a colleague here in Ireland. He was not suspended from Limerick University Hospital for 12 months after they became aware of the allegation. The young nurse, who was the victim, had to transfer. Some will say he was entitled to be treated as "innocent until proven guilty." But in cases where there is an adult with a high position of trust (who looks after vulnerable people), risks should NEVER be taken. The UK is as bad. Just recently, the General Medical Council allowed a foreign doctor to continue to practice after what was described as "a one off rape".
Meanwhile, the Medical Council seems to place a higher priority on going after doctors for not pushing the you know what on everyone. I would love to know how quickly they worked to remove the 3 doctors in this article.
Advice to readers: Please always insist on a chaperone during medical examinations.