DUBLIN — A damning internal review by the Health Service Executive (HSE) has exposed profound failures in its recruitment protocols, revealing that the agency hired a doctor previously suspended for forging prescriptions without conducting mandatory Garda vetting or verifying his references.
The doctor at the centre of the controversy, Dr. Alaaeddin Almassri, a Palestinian national, was ultimately suspended by a court order in June 2024 following an application by the Medical Council over his professional misconduct.
Key findings detailed in the internal HSE report, obtained by The Sunday Independent, include:
- Vetting Protocol Breach: The HSE completely failed to secure Garda vetting (Irish police clearance) prior to Dr. Almassri’s commencement of work.
- Suspension Concealed: His suspension for misusing and forging prescriptions was missed entirely. Dr. Almassri signed his employment contract with Our Lady’s Hospital Navan on June 17, 2024—the very day his suspension began—without disclosing the order.
- Fabricated References: A crucial lapse in due diligence was highlighted, with the review noting that two testimonial letters contained the identical typo in the exact same location, strongly suggesting they were fabricated.
Dr. Almassri defended his actions, stating he obtained the drugs via forged prescriptions to cope with severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after several of his family members were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
While Dr. Almassri began work at Navan Hospital on July 8, 2024, his employment was terminated later that month. The scandal has ignited calls from TDs for a comprehensive investigation into the HSE’s senior management and the security of its critical hiring processes.
