Irish premier re-registers as doctor during coronavirus pandemic

Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar will go back to work as a doctor one day a week to help out during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Irish PM Leo Varadkar to work one day a week as a doctor

Leo Varadkar is to work one day per week as a doctor to help combat the coronavirus pandemic after reactivating his medical credentials. In March, the Health Service Executive (HSE) appealed for all healthcare professionals not working in the profession to register in a mass recruitment drive to deal with the crisis. Some 50,000 people applied in less than three days, and Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) offered his services to the HSE in areas that are within his competence, a spokesperson for his office said on Sunday.

Varadkar returns to medicine to help during crisis

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has rejoined the medical register and is to work a session a week to help out in the Coronavirus crisis, The Irish Times reported on Sunday.

Mr Varadkar studied medicine and worked as a doctor for seven years before leaving the profession for politics. He was removed from the medical register in 2013.

However, he rejoined the medical register in March as the coronavirus pandemic began to hit Ireland, and is set to work within the Health Service Executive on a weekly basis, in an area suited to his qualifications.

The HSE appealed last month for all healthcare professionals not working in the profession to register in a mass recruitment drive to deal with the crisis. Some 50,000 people applied in less than three days. Apply/register HERE.

It is understood the Taoiseach is helping out in phone assessments. Anyone who may have been exposed to Covid-19 is initially assessed over the phone rather than in person, to curb the spread of the virus. 

Varadkar’s father Ashok, an Indian immigrant, was a GP and his mother Miriam was a nurse. His partner Matthew Barrett is a cardiologist, and his two sisters and their husbands all work in the health services.

He has won plaudits from across the political spectrum for his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Ireland adopted early restrictions and appears to have avoided an unmitigated pandemic, though cases are expected to surge this week, reported The Guardian 

Varadkar succeeded Enda Kenny in 2017 as leader of Fine Gael, a centrist party, and as taoiseach (PM). He earned praise for his handling of the economy and Brexit talks but in a general election in February voters punished the party for failures in housing and healthcare.

Source: IrishTimes