New academic consultants may be on lower salaries

Medical organisations and health service management to hold more talks next week

THE MINISTER for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, has raised the possibility of lower salary levels being introduced for academic medical consultants appointed in the future.

The Minister told the Dáil last week that there were 93 academic medical consultants who had approved salaries in excess of the €200,000 general pay ceiling which the Government adopted last year for staff across the public service.

Academic consultants are the highest paid doctors in the public health system.

Mr Howlin said: “The Minister for Health is addressing the issue of the pay cap for newly appointed academic consultants in the context of his discussions with the representative associations for consultants on matters related to the consultant contract.”

This is the first occasion that it has emerged that the current talks between health service management and consultants will include attempts to introduce lower pay rates for newly-appointed academic consultants.

The programme for government contains a commitment to reduce the pay of hospital consultants. However, Dr Reilly has instead opted to seek a deal involving greater flexibility and work practice reforms.

He has argued that this would generate more in savings than would be realised from a further cut in pay.

Representatives of medical organisations and health service management are scheduled to hold further talks next week.

The chief executive of the HSE, Cathal Magee, told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee a fortnight ago that progress in the process had been slow so far.

He also appeared to criticise the stance taken by the Irish Hospital Consultants Association in the talks. He suggested its attitude was very different to that of individual doctors in the health system. The work clinicians do in the health system is first class. The flexibility available on an individual level is significant,” Mr Magee said.

“The progress we are making in our clinical programmes and clinicians taking leadership and decision-making roles in the health system is important and that is happening.”

“The Irish Hospital Consultants Association, as a representative organisation and the negotiating agent, must step up to the plate and give leadership to the change agenda. Every other union has done so. The consultant community at an individual level recognise the realities and are supportive but that does not necessarily emerge at the negotiating table. That is what must change.”

In a document drawn up at the start of the process in May, health service management said it wanted “demonstrable” changes to work practices, attendance patterns and reporting relationships for hospital consultants.

It also proposed a “significant reduction” in the amount of historic leave that can be taken by consultants.