01-08-2025
Health workers see inclusion as central to caring for patients
Training to raise awareness of diversity and inclusion among medical workers is boosting the quality of services being delivered to patients, says Dr Suzanne Crowe, president of the Medical Council.
Dr Crowe, who works in paediatric intensive care, says that an inclusive medical workforce leads to greater understanding of patients' needs, culturally competent care, and ultimately, better health outcomes for patients.
Speaking during Cork Pride 2025, which runs from July 26 to August 3, Dr Crowe says that she welcomes Pride events, which allow us to pause and reflect on the importance of accepting people for who they are.
In this Q&A interview, Dr Crowe outlines some of the areas in which Irish health service providers have been very positive in ensuring diversity and inclusion in how patients are cared for, while also highlighting a number of areas where further improvements would be beneficial, notably further supports to help doctors with a disability to carry out their work effectively.
Does the Irish medical profession see itself as actively diverse and inclusive?
I think the medical profession does see itself as diverse, and increasingly inclusive. Medicine as a profession welcomes people from all walks of life, and there is increasing diversity in terms of gender and sexuality, so I would see it as being inclusive in this sense. In my opinion, we've made a lot of progress over the last couple of decades in certain areas, particularly in diversity of ethnic backgrounds, as well as from a gender balance point of view.
The profession is increasingly seeing equal numbers of men and women working in medicine, in fact, we're seeing a shift towards it being more female-dominated in some specialisms. Our most recent (2024) Medical Workforce Intelligence data shows that the gender split among GPs in Ireland had slightly more females (52.4%) than males (47.6%). The majority of female GPs are between the ages 30 and 59, and older age brackets from there and above are dominated by males. This suggests that as older male GPs retire, the proportion of females in general practice will continue to grow.
As well as this, in 2024 our clinically active medical workforce consisted of 13.8% of doctors who qualified in the EU/UK, and 27.8% who qualified outside of Ireland, the EU and the UK — meaning that 41.6% of our medical workforce qualified outside of Ireland. Without these doctors, our health system would collapse immediately.
An area that could be improved upon is for doctors with a disability. Further supports should be put in place for doctors with a disability to carry out their work effectively. Overall, the profession does regard itself as diverse and inclusive.
In what ways does the sector's openness help with attracting and retaining talent?
The healthcare sector is very active in attracting talent, both in Ireland and abroad. Doctors are united as protectors of health — of the individual, and the community; and Ireland is now seen as an open, democratic, and progressive society to live in. That's why a career in medicine in Ireland can be rewarding for those who have experienced trauma or marginalisation for their beliefs, and are seeking to contribute to an inclusive, modern society.
While openness brings many benefits to medicine, it's worth noting areas that still need attention, such as long working hours, working environment, and conditions. We may be attracting talent, but need to ensure we're retaining our workforce in Ireland by providing a sustainable environment to work in.
Do you believe there is a link between having a diverse workforce and safer patient outcomes?
I believe there is. As doctors, we should ensure that we advocate for trust, partnership and informed consent in our relationships with patients. The Medical Council carried out research in 2023, which showed that 80% of people feel it is important to be treated as a partner in their healthcare by their doctor. What this essentially means is that patients want their doctor to be approachable — someone they can bring personal concerns to.
This same survey showed that people in Ireland believe that the elderly (57%), members of the travelling community (34%), refugees (33%) and immigrants (32%) are among the minority groups most at risk of receiving substandard care. Members of minority groups have unique healthcare needs and may find it easier to speak to a doctor who comes from a similar background. If the patient can relate to their doctor, they'll feel understood, in a safe space, and like their care will be approached in a non-judgemental way. This helps patients feel safe in communicating with their doctor, which helps the doctor to personalise their treatment plan and direct it to specific issues. It can help the patient to follow their plan when there's a good relationship. All these elements combined help to enhance patient care and improve patient safety.
Does training help promote a more actively diverse and inclusive approach to recruitment?
Training our future workforce at an early stage to have an open, empathetic approach to people of different backgrounds helps ensure that Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) awareness is already part of their understanding when they start work.
Discrimination and lack of understanding can impede the path to compassionate healthcare. Bringing DE&I awareness to students throughout the lifecycle of the doctor from school into undergraduate and postgraduate education; will help doctors to address potential biases.
Not only do they then have the awareness, correct language, and training about DE&I, but they'll eventually look to recruit that diversity into their own teams, because they know it'll increase inclusion, produce better working environments, and ultimately enhance patient care when treating patients of different backgrounds.
Celebrating Pride also provides chances to educate and to learn, promote awareness and increase understanding of issues faced by the LGBTQI+ community. We saw a great turnout of doctors and healthcare workers from the HSE and LGBT Ireland for the Dublin Pride Parade a couple of weeks ago, and I have no doubt the representation will be strong for Cork Pride as well.
LGBT Ireland's LGBT+ Champions programme is available to doctors and healthcare professionals to help understand the identities and advocate for their LGBTQI+ patients. These are provided by LGBT Ireland, the HSE, post graduate training bodies, universities, advocacy groups and charities.
