Hundreds of doctors protested yesterday to highlight their anger at the state of the health services. Long working hours for junior doctors, alleged inadequate training and major reform of patient care were cited as matters of concern by those who gathered outside hospitals across the Republic for lunchtime protests.
The second national day of protest was considered a major success by organiser Dr Stephen Harris who is planning a protest march to the Dail next month.
An estimated 100 medics protested outside the Cork University Hospital. "Despite the rain, we were joined by secretaries, cleaners, nurses and other hospital staff," said Dr Harris, who is a specialist registrar in endocrinology, diabetes and general medicine at the hospital.
"The message going from here today is that we want health and safety to become a primary concern of the Government," he said.
The long working week imposed on junior doctors and the lack of recognition for their work were high priorities for the 70 medical staff who protested outside Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, according to the registrar, Dr Alan Mulgrew.
"There was a lot of publicity about three months ago regarding the working conditions of junior doctors but nothing has changed since then," he said. He began work at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and was due to continue working until after 7 p.m. last night - a 34-hour shift. He usually works this shift once a week.
"The longer you work the less you get paid. In the small hours of the morning I am down to halftime. We do not volunteer to work these hours; we are rostered to work them," Dr Mulgrew said.
Some junior doctors were still owed money from 1996 and 1997 for working overtime, he said. The doctors were equally concerned about the impact which these working hours had on them and on the care they provided for their patients.
They were also angry that they were supposed to be in training during these long hours. "This is not possible. I am not being trained at four in the morning and neither is any other doctor," Dr Mulgrew said.
Doctors from the University Hospital and Merlin Park Hospital in Galway joined forces to protest, with more than 100 medics turning out.
There was a need for healthcare to be made a priority in the national development plan for 2000-2006, oncology senior house registrar Dr Liam Glynn said.
About 30 doctors attended the protest outside Limerick Regional Hospital.