Consultants hopeful on contract talks

CONSULTANTS are optimistic that stalled negotiations with the Health Service Executive on a new contract could be back on track within weeks.

Secretary general of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, Finbarr Fitzpatrick, said there was “a degree of optimism” that IHCA national council would accept new proposals for a resumption of the talks at their annual conference in Mullingar this weekend.

Contract talks broke down last February when the HSE unilaterally decided to abolish ‘off-site’ consultant private practice rights.

The HSE board meets tomorrow night to consider the proposals.

At a meeting of the Dáil Health Committee last Thursday, Health Minister Mary Harney said that despite earlier suggesting the HSE would only be issuing public hospital only contracts in future, it was now accepted that one size did not fit all. “We will probably need a variety of options,” she conceded.

Consultants are also expected to voice their objection to plans to introduce random screening of doctors.

While the IHCA supports the concept of competence assurance, it believes doctors should be screened only where a specific complaint has been made against a medical practitioner.

The conference is also expected to condemn the failure of the HSE to implement the recommendations of the Lourdes Hospital that examined the high rate of caesarean hysterectomies performed by disgraced obstetrician Dr Michael Neary.