Angry doctors to challenge Martin

HEALTH Minister Micheál Martin will face a barrage of demands from disgruntled doctors for investment across a wide range of GP, hospital and public health services when he meets the Irish Medical Organisation on Friday.

But the minister’s address to the 5,000-strong membership will be a bitter pill for practitioners seeking an instant cure for stretched services and funding shortfalls. He will stress the need for continued financial restraint and maximum efficiency within existing resources.

The organisation’s three-day annual general meeting opens in Killarney on Thursday with motions calling for immediate action on overcrowding in accident and emergency departments.