July deadline set for consultants to work extended hours, says Carroll MacNeill

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said consultants working patterns will be brought in line with their contracts by the end of July (PA)

The Minister for Health has said she has instructed consultants’ working patterns to be brought into line with their contracts by the end of July.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said around 12% of public-only consultants include Saturdays as part of their work practice plans, despite it being a contractual obligation.

She appeared on Virgin Media’s Monday with Gavan Reilly, where she was questioned about her efforts to compel senior doctors to work six or seven-day rosters.

Ms MacNeill said when she took over her department, she set up a system to track work practice plans, which outline individual workers’ schedules and responsibilities.

It has taken “nearly a year to get them”, she said, and they reveal that less than 40% of consultants have extended hours in their work plans.

She said regional clinical directors, the senior consultants in each region responsible for rosters, have been directed to “remedy that within four weeks, by the end of July, so that that is brought into line with the terms of the contract”.

She added: “It’s not okay to voluntarily sign a contract for a very significant salary … and then not be available or not enthusiastically commit to working the hours.”

Asked what would happen if the deadline is not met, Ms MacNeill responded: “We have a series of tools available to us to escalate this, at the end of the day, these are the hours that are contracted.”

She said she had spoken to the chief clinical officer of the HSE, Dr Colm Henry, about the issue on Monday: “He is very, very strong about the need both to make sure that there is no private work happening with public-only consultants and to make sure that they’re working the hours.”

In addition, she said, all six regional clinical directors will address the Cabinet Committee on Health at the end of July to explain “exactly how they’re implementing that”.

“So we are placing real visibility on this in a way that hasn’t happened before, and that in itself is impactful.”