Dispute halts medical check on diseases

More than 40 notifiable diseases are not being monitored while public health doctors remain in dispute with the Department of Health, the Irish Medical Organisation warned yesterday.

Dr Joe Barry, vice-president of the IMO, said people would be mistaken to believe SARS was the only illness to worry about.

More than 300 public health doctors have been striking since last Monday over pay and conditions.

Cases of notifiable diseases must be reported to the National Disease Surveillance Centre so doctors there may decide whether intervention, such as quarantine, mass vaccination or closure of work places, is necessary to contain the disease.

Among the most serious illnesses left unmonitored at present were bacterial meningitis and measles, said Dr Barry.

He said that, while there was a vaccine for meningitis C there was none for type B, of which there were about 350 cases last year.

"If there is an outbreak of type B intervention is vital, and very quickly, to stop it spreading. That is something that would be far slower to happen in the absence of a fully-operational public health doctor system."

The outbreak of measles in Dublin's north inner city in July 2000 claimed the lives of three children, said Dr Barry.

"Again if there were to be an outbreak, intervention would be needed very quickly, with steps co-ordinated by public health doctors who are the experts in this."

He said there was also a range of food poisonings.

In such instances public health doctors would embark on a series of investigations to trace their source.

Among the other illnesses where the expertise of public health doctors was vital, he continued, were hepatitis, E.coli 0157 and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV.

"Our job is the watch the occurrence of these diseases and make the appropriate arrangements to contain them. If we're not doing that more people may get ill than necessary and may even die unnecessarily" said Dr Barry.

His members were anxious to return to work, but had had no communication from the Department of Health over the weekend following their communication saying they were available for talks.

"We have, before the strike, been providing our expertise on a round-the-clock basis even though only being paid on a 9-to-5 basis. The Department know they need us round the clock but aren't willing to pay for it. " He said IMO members were puzzled and annoyed at the Department's refusal to enter into talks.

A spokeswoman said the Department was ready to begin talks at the Labour Relations Commission or, following a joint referral, at the Labour Court.