CUH orders halt to overtime pay for doctors

JUNIOR doctors at the country’s largest hospital are the latest casualties of frenetic efforts by the HSE to generate €300 million in savings at a time when health chiefs have warned they could run out of cash.

A circular sent to consultants at Cork University Hospital (CUH), seen by the Irish Examiner, has ordered an immediate halt to the payment of unrostered overtime to non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs).

These are hours NCHDs work outside of their on-call commitments, such as early morning ward rounds, or, “in exceptional circumstances”, such as working extra hours to help out with a medical emergency.

The circular, from Annemarie Byrne, medical manpower manager, said the decision to end these payments, “even in exceptional circumstances” was “in view of the extremely serious financial situation facing CUH and HSE South”.

The circular comes as the HSE’s assistant national director for finance, Liam Minihan, confirmed that the executive is working on a contingency plan in case it runs out of money by year end.

Mr Minihan this week said he is sitting on a HSE group drafting a national cash management strategy “as a contingency, just in case, in order to prioritise payments in December”.

“Of course, salaries and wages will be paid, but under consideration is a deferral for example of overtime payments or payments to creditors to 2012.”

However, assistant general secretary with IMPACT Andy Pike , said if there are any moves to defer overtime payments from IMPACT members, “it will be seen as a breach of contract and legal action will ensue”.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) said stopping unrostered overtime payments to junior doctors was a breach of contract.

IMO NCHD committee chairman Mark Murphy said CUH management had shown “blatant disregard for an integral part” of the hospital’s workforce by sending the circular to consultants and not the doctors themselves. He said industrial action “was always a recourse when terms and conditions are breached”.

IMO officials will travel to Cork today to meet with CUH management and NCHDs to discuss options.

The HSE said medical overtime payments (rostered and unrostered) for approximately 300 NCHDs in CUH are currently in excess of €900,000 every month.

While rostered overtime will be paid, time in lieu will be offered instead of payment for unrostered overtime. The HSE said expenditure reviews are ongoing for all staff.

At the end of July, the HSE was €223.3m over budget.