Hospital consultants to discuss contracts report
Consultants will tomorrow debate a major independent report aimed at resolving long-running contract talks with health chiefs.
The proposals, by talks chairman Mark Connaughton SC, recommended flexibility on extended working hours and new management structures.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) branded the report balanced and fair while Minister for Health Mary Harney said it would greatly improve hospital services.
“I believe that Mr Connaughton’s proposals represent an even-handed approach to the resolution of outstanding issues between health service employers and the consultants’ representative organisations,” she said.
“As a package, they represent a significant advance for the public interest.
“They are acceptable to me and I sincerely hope that both the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (ICHA) and Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) will also find them acceptable so that we can get on with the task of implementing the new contractual arrangements for the benefit of public hospital patients.
“Our objective for the country is to be able to attract the best medical experts to work in our health services, in the best possible working arrangements together for the best possible outcomes for patients.”
“These proposals will help us to achieve that,” she said.
The contract proposals provide for two types of consultants – those full-time in the public service, Type A, and those who also do private work in public facilities, Type B.
The report recommended that no more than 20% of a consultant’s work should involve private patients.
Mr Connaughton also said consultants should normally work a 37-hour week, organised around an 8am to 8pm extended working day.
To improve services, they should be in the hospital on both Saturdays and Sundays, for five hours each day.
While the issue of pay was not addressed in the report, health service employers have offered consultants an annual salary of up to €216,000 to sign up to the Type A contract, and up to €190,000 for the Type B contract.
“We will now have stronger team working arrangements among consultants and direct reporting relationships by them to Clinical Directors,” Ms Harney said
“There is a strong theme in these proposals of facilitating local arrangements to provide more responsive patient services.
Professor Brendan Drumm, CEO of the HSE said the proposals represent a balanced fair and reasonable solution.
“Most importantly the package represents a practical framework that will primarily serve the needs of patients and clients by improving access to senior clinical decision makers,” he said.
“There is now an unprecedented opportunity for consultants to become leaders in transforming the health service.”
Negotiations on a new consultant contract have been ongoing since November 2005 but were stalled on a number of occasions.
In June 2006, Mr Connaughton provided management and the medical organisations with proposals to resume talks.
He has been holding separate meetings for the past week with the medical organisations, the HSE and the Department of Health, in a bid to reach a final resolution in the negotiations.
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association holds its 19th annual conference in Dublin tomorrow.
