Hospital interns have been asked to do duties they aren't qualified for, according to new Medical Council reports.
The council has been looking at nine hospitals around the country, including University Hospital Waterford, to check their training standards.
The inspections were carried out at the university hospitals, in Galway, Letterkenny, Portiuncula, Sligo, Kerry, Cork, Waterford, the Mercy, and South Tipperary General Hospital.
While for the most part they were found to be at least partially complying with standards, the inspections found that some interns were being asked to perform duties above their grade.
Trainees were left unsupervised when a consultant was absent for a week.
In other situations medical registrars refused to write notes in patients charts and left this for interns to complete, regardless if they had seen the patient or not.
There was also allegations of bullying and a lack of respect show to trainees.
The medical council recommended that an application be made for a substantial increase in the number of interns at University Hospital Waterford. It noted that a "total of 20 Interns is inadequate for a hospital of this size." It resulted in a significant amount of un-rostered overtime hours.
University Hospital Waterford was found to have full or partial compliance in all areas except accountability. It noted that the "urgent appointment of an educational lead at the clinical training site would do much to
enhance the accountability and organisation of training".
Hospital Groups must submit an action plan following an inspection and the medical council says implementation plans will be monitored on an annual basis.
