LESS THAN half of hospital consultants feel they have sufficient medical equipment to do their jobs properly, according to the findings of a new survey.
The research, commissioned by the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) and presented at a meeting of its members in Dublin yesterday, also found morale among consultants low due to a range of factors, including health service cutbacks and a lack of sufficient supports to do their jobs.
Dr Trevor Duffy, chairman of the IMO’s consultant committee, said many consultants felt they were no longer able to do a day’s work they could stand over as a result of bed closures, lengthy waiting times for outpatient appointments and lack of secretarial support.
He said he was aware of a couple of cases recently where consultants resigned from what would be regarded as “plum” posts in the public sector because they were unable to get their work done. Their frustrations would include “seeing patients in clinics not knowing when they would be able to book them in for surgery and not have sufficient secretarial support to communicate with GPs so letters could take three months to go out”. This was after patients’ expectations had been built up that they would now be seen quickly after they already waited months on an outpatient waiting list, he added.
A total of 1,600 hospital consultants, including members and non-members of the IMO, were surveyed for the research by Behaviour & Attitudes over the past couple of months. Some 400 replied, a response rate of 25 per cent.
Almost 70 per cent said cutbacks had been introduced by their hospital management and 93 per cent felt these cuts would affect services and the numbers of patients which could be treated.
Over half felt the length of time patients had to wait for a first appointment to see them had a negative impact on their relationship with patients. Last week it emerged about 200,000 patients are on outpatient waiting lists, with some waiting up to five years to be seen.
In relation to morale, 53 per cent said it was low or very low among themselves and their colleagues, with 60 per cent believing it had declined over the past five years.
Dr Duffy said less than half those who responded felt they had sufficient medical equipment to do their jobs in a professional manner, while close to 60 per cent felt they had insufficient non-medical supports such as secretaries.
The new Minister for Health James Reilly, who is a former president of the IMO, said he expects to begin negotiations with consultants on a new contract within three months.