The chief executive of the Health Service Executive Prof Brendan Drumm has been criticised for not taking up an invitation to attend the annual conference of the Irish Medical Organisation in Killarney.
The IMO's director of industrial relations Fintan Hourihan said it seemed Prof Drumm had decided to do what his boss, Minister for Health, Mary Harney wanted by attending the PDs' party conference instead.
Ms Harney said she could not attend because the event clashed with her own party conference and a spokesman for the HSE said last week Prof Drumm had been invited only to the IMO's dinner on Saturday night. He had not been invited to speak at the IMO event, the spokesman said.
His failure to attend at a time when the HSE is trying to get consultants, GPs, junior hospital doctors and public health doctors to agree to new contracts was seen by the IMO, which represents about 6,000 doctors, as a disappointment, Mr Hourihan said.
Meanwhile, GPs attending the conference on Saturday insisted that when a new contract is negotiated for GPs, it should include flexibility to allow part-time working.
They also agreed to pursue what they termed a "more realistic" payment for out-of-hours work and to see what changes could be made to make it easier for young GPs to get access to their own lists of medical card (GMS) patients.
Dr Amelia Barwise, a GP in north Dublin, called for a cap to be put on the numbers of patients which could be included on individual doctors GMS lists.
Dr Marion Broderick, a GP on Inis Mór, called on the HSE to fully fund locums who are willing to provide cover for single- handed GPs in isolated areas.
She complained that when a suitable applicant was found for a second GP on Inis Mór three years ago, the appointment became "bogged down in bureaucracy" which had never been resolved. She was still on her own and the funding provided by the HSE was only sufficient to fill the second GP post which had been sanctioned with a locum for six months of the year.
The IMO's GP chairman Dr Martin Daly said there were no scruples when it came to "super wealthy" developers receiving tax breaks for private hospitals, hotels, car parks, seaside resorts and private nursing homes but "real concern" about GPs getting the same to develop primary care.
He believed the Competition Authority should investigate the setting up by the VHI of a Swiftcare Clinic which he said was anti-competitive.