Doubts over new hospital consultant contracts

The contract comes into effect on Wednesday and offers basic pay of between €209,915 and €252,150 on a six-point scale, for a 37-hour week, including Saturdays.

A new contract for hospital consultants looks set to be rejected by large numbers of medics, with over half of Irish doctors working abroad saying it would not encourage them to return home. 

The contract comes into effect on Wednesday and offers basic pay of between €209,915 and €252,150 on a six-point scale, for a 37-hour week, including 8am to 10pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 6pm Saturdays. 

When these hours are completed, consultants can work off-site in private practice.

Surveys by the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) and Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) identified ongoing concerns with the contract around issues including rostering and staff numbers.

The IHCA found 77% of doctors working abroad are “less likely or not influenced to return” while 73% of doctors here are “more likely to remain on their current contract” than switch to the new one.

Overall, 73% are “not confident” that the contract will fix the recruitment crisis.

Similarly, the IMO found that 59% of members abroad will not return. Among consultants in training, 64% will not accept it and among doctors working here, some 57% will not switch over.

The IHCA said: “Time will tell as to the effectiveness or not of this new contract. 

"Ultimately, its ability to meaningfully address record patient waiting times, fill the 900 vacant consultant posts, and improve the daily working experiences of all consultants will be the acid tests.

Under this new contract, we face being stretched even further with no clarity on how it will attract and retain the additional consultants our patients need.” 

The decision is now up to individuals, the association said.

The IMO’s Matthew Sadlier said the contract is a “missed opportunity”, highlighting concerns about the "ability of the HSE to change work location of consultants without agreement”.

He warned: “We are now almost certainly looking at a period of great uncertainty and potentially an ongoing recruitment crisis.” 

A Department of Health spokesman, however, said the expectation is that most doctors will switch to the new contract.

“The department was surprised by the way in which the IHCA presented the contract to its members at this late stage and believe this had a negative impact on sentiment across the consultant body.” 

He added: “We remain confident that there will be strong uptake.” 

Concerns around fair rostering, unlimited weekend hours, disciplinary code, overtime, and changes to the contract were discussed at length during negotiations to provide "appropriate high-quality patient care", he said. 

A HSE spokeswoman confirmed that new consultants appointed from Wednesday will be offered the contract.