IMO calls for action plan on junior doctors' hours

The Irish Medical Organisation is calling on the HSE to immediately begin work on an action plan to reduce the working hours of junior doctors.

A number of issues about Ireland's health system are being debated at the IMO's three-day conference taking place at present in Killarney.

Amongst them is the fact that junior doctors in Ireland continue to work hours beyond EU-recommended levels.

New IMO Chairman Dr John Donnellan says the HSE should develop a national policy re-definining the duties and responsibilities of junior doctors and have a timetable for its implementation.

He says that junior doctors are working dangerous and illegal hours, many of which remain unpaid by hospitals trying to achieve cost savings.

HSE chief operating officer Laverne McGuinness recently told the Oireachtas committee on health that the Executive has made significant progress in reducing the working hours of junior doctors, but smaller hospitals in remote locations are sometimes unable to support the larger rotas needed to achieve this objective.