Perfusionists pause strike action after HSE agrees to discuss pay dispute

Perfusionists picket outside Cork University Hospital as part of a campaign for pay parity, calling for equal pay rights in line with colleagues performing similar roles elsewhere in the health service. Picture: Chani Anderson

Strike action planned for next week by perfusionists involved in heart bypass and other cardiac surgeries has been paused after the HSE agreed to discuss their pay dispute.

The 25 perfusionists work across five hospitals, including Cork University Hospital and Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) at Crumlin in Dublin.

They took industrial action on Tuesday of last week in protest over a long-running pay dispute. The disagreement arose after a pay link between perfusionists and medical scientists, which had been in place for decades, was severed at the start of 2024.

Further strike action had been scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday.

However, their trade union, Fórsa, confirmed on Friday that the planned action has now been paused.

A union spokesperson said the decision followed contact from the HSE indicating that the issue would be placed on the agenda for discussion during upcoming public service pay talks.

“Following detailed discussions this morning with lead representatives and the union's dispute committee, Fórsa has agreed to pause next week’s industrial action to allow the public service talks to address this matter,” he said.

Perfusionists picket outside Cork University Hospital as part of a campaign for pay parity, calling for equal pay rights in line with colleagues performing similar roles elsewhere in the health service. Picture: Chani Anderson

Frustration has been growing among the small workforce since a Labour Court recommendation issued in January calling for the restoration of the pay link was not implemented.

Lorraine Browne, a clinical perfusion scientist at Cork University Hospital, said specialist staff felt they had been left with no option but to take industrial action after the recommendation was not acted upon.

Speaking on the picket line at CUH last Tuesday, she said: “It is regrettable but it was all avoidable. The HSE broke an agreement that had been in place since the 1960s.

“It’s ridiculous really, and all we want is for them to restore that and to implement the Labour Court recommendation.” 

Explaining the role of perfusionists in cardiac care, she said: “A perfusionist is part of the cardiac surgery team. We take over the function of the heart and lungs with the heart-lung by-machine while the surgeon operates on the heart. So no cardiac surgery can happen without cardiac perfusionists.” 

She said that, in essence, “we do the bypass” during bypass surgery.