‘Health risk’ over strike by doctors

SERVICES to monitor infectious diseases will be severely disrupted from today with the start of an all-out strike by the country’s 270 public health doctors.

Health officials have warned of a potential health risk because of the serious curtailment to services provided by public health doctors at health boards and the National Disease Surveillance Centre.

The striking doctors, who are members of the Irish Medical Organisation, are taking industrial action over what they claim is the failure of the Health Service Employers Agency to implement promises made in 1994 to improve basic pay and conditions.