Consultants’ contract in final stages

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney said yesterday the essence of a new hospital consultants’ contract was now agreed.

But she conceded there were “a number of small areas” — including pay — needing further discussion.

While there was no agreement yet on the Government’s offer of €216,000 a year for consultants who opt to work full-time for public patients only, Ms Harney said she welcomed the comments by the Irish Hospital Consultants’ Association (IHEA) at its annual conference. Itemising the changes on the RTÉ Radio This Week programme, the minister said there would not be preferential access for people with private health insurance.

The Government proposes to virtually double the number of hospital consultants.

Ms Harney said she did not envisage it would cost more than the €900 million currently paid to consultants and junior hospital doctors when they moved to the new consultant-delivered service.

Meanwhile IHCA president David O’Keeffe said yesterday that recent cutbacks have exposed the big disconnect between the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Last week the HSE was forced to continue with its recruitment freeze to reduce its financial deficit of more than €200m.

“In assuming responsibility for the finances of the HSE the chief executive [Brendan Drumm] has either settled for an inadequate budget from the start or has mismanaged the resources at his disposal,” said Mr O’Keeffe.

He noted the experience in his own hospital in Galway, which is facing a proposal to close beds that generate €200,000 a month by facilitating complex spinal and orthopaedic work under the National Treatment Purchase Fund.

“We see a future contract with a family-friendly element, part-time consultants, job-sharing consultants who don’t stop being doctors at 4pm or 8pm or whenever they stop work.

“The co-location issue is for us a non-issue. We want to agree a contract that will continue the excellence in the public hospital system,” he said.

Bertie: Blast

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern departed from his text last week to blast hospital consultants.

“I really get tired of listening to these people who can earn up to €500,000 a year, or twice as much as I get, constantly giving out about their place of work.

“If they were footballers they would get a red card,” he told HR managers and union leaders in Dublin.