Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar to work as doctor to help fight coronavirus

Ireland’s taoiseach Leo Varadkar has re-registered as a medical practitioner and will work one shift a week to help out during the coronavirus crisis, his office has said.

Mr Varadkar worked as a doctor for seven years before leaving  the profession to become a politician and was removed from themedical register in 2013.

He rejoined the medical register in March, and offered his services to the country’s Health Service Executive (HSE) for one  session a week in areas that are within his scope of practice, as spokesman for his office said.

“Many of his family and friends are working in the health  service. He wanted to help out even in a small way,” the  spokesman added.

Last month, health minister Simon Harris launched a recruitment drive for the country’s struggling health service to tackle the coronavirus outbreak with a stark message: “Your country needs you".

The HSE said it had spoken to thousands of healthcare professionals who may be eligible to return after it received more than 70,000 responses for its “Be on call for Ireland" initiative.

According to a report in the Irish Times, Mr Varadkar is helping out with phone assessments. Anybody who may have been exposed to the virus is initially assessed over the phone.

Mr Varadkar comes from a medical family. He is the son of a doctor and a nurse and his partner, two sisters and their husbands all work in healthcare.