APPOINTMENT OF NON SPECIALIST DOCTORS AS CONSULTANTS IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE COMPROMISING PATIENT SAFETY AND CARE
APPOINTMENT OF NON SPECIALIST DOCTORS AS CONSULTANTS IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE COMPROMISING PATIENT SAFETY AND CARE
Monday 15th May 2017: The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has expressed its serious concern that an increasing number of temporary consultant posts are being filled by doctors who are not eligible to be on the Medical Council’s Specialist Register. This practice violates the most basic professional standards within the public health services.
Dr Tom Ryan, IHCA President, said: “The practice of appointing doctors who are not on the specialist register to work as Consultants in our health services must stop immediately. It is not acceptable that doctors who do not have the essential specialist training, skills and expertise are treating patients as consultants in our acute health services. This compromises and undermines the quality and safety of care that is provided to patients in our hospitals. The crisis in the recruitment and retention of consultants, which was acknowledged last week by the Public Service Pay Commission, cannot be resolved at the expense of patient safety.”
The IHCA is calling on the Minister for Health and the HSE to publish details on the number of consultant posts filled by doctors who are not on the Specialist Register for the speciality in which they are practising. The State and public hospitals are appointing doctors who are not on the Specialist Register to consultant posts in breach of the basic requirements for filling consultant posts.
The Association has welcomed the Public Service Pay Commission’s acknowledgement that there is a recruitment and retention crisis for hospital consultants and also for consultants in the mental health services. Dr Ryan said that the IHCA had provided irrefutable evidence to the Commission that the Irish health service has become uncompetitive in recruiting and retaining the number and calibre of consultants that are required to provide timely care to patients. He said that this is clear from the fact that 15% of the permanent consultant posts in our acute services are unfilled on a permanent basis, unlike any other professional group in the civil or public services. As a result hospitals are paying multiples of the official salaries for temporary and agency consultants.
The IHCA President said it is abundantly clear that in order to address the recruitment and retention crisis, the FEMPI salary cuts imposed on Consultants since 2009 must be reversed. In addition the 2008 Consultant Contract terms must be honoured in full and the discrimination against new entrant consultants must be brought to an end.
ENDS
For further information contact:
James Dunny, FleishmanHillard 086 3883903