Ireland’s Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, Goes Back to Being a Doctor for one Day a Week

The Fine Gael party leader was a junior doctor in Dublin and a qualified GP in 2010 before becoming Ireland’s Prime Minister.

Leo Varadkar has decided to spend one day a week working as a doctor during the coronavirus pandemic to help the country after reactivating his medical license.

A Spokesperson for Dr Varadkar said that “he re-joined the medical register last month” and that “he has offered his service to the Health Service Executive for one session a week in areas that are within his scope of practice”. As many of his relatives and friends work in the sector, Varadkar “wanted to help out even in a small way”.

The 41-year-old Prime Minister had previously worked as a doctor in Dublin and a qualified GP in 2010 before quitting the career to pursue a full-time job as a politician.

According to the Irish Times, Varadkar, is currently “on call for Ireland” and conducting phone assessments in accordance to the protocol which advises people whether or not they are infected over the phone rather than in person.

His father, Ashok, an Indian immigrant, was also a GP and his mother Miriam worked as a nurse. His partner Matthew Barrett is a cardiologist.

His political reaction to the coronavirus pandemic has earned him recognition from across the political spectrum, as Ireland adopted early restrictions and appears to have circumvented an uncontrollable pandemic, although cases are on the rise.