HSE contracts decision infuriates consultants

Talks between hospital consultants and health service management on a new contract were adjourned yesterday following an acrimonious meeting.

The talks were dominated by a row over the decision of the board of the Health Service Executive (HSE) last month not to appoint additional consultants with rights to treat fee-paying patients in private hospitals.

Consultants' organisations - the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) and the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) - are furious they were not informed of the HSE decision of January 13th at the last round of talks. The abolition of the so-called category II consultant contract was announced in the Dáil by Minister for Health Mary Harney last week.

The HSE said last night it had intended to inform parties of its decision but it had not had an opportunity to do so as there had been no discussion at the last meeting on draft proposals for a new consultant contract.

The HSE said parties had been told by letter some days later.

The IMO said last night that the reason put forward by management for not informing it was "laughable" and it had been met with incredulity by everyone on the other side of the table.

IHCA secretary general Finbarr Fitzpatrick said the explanation was "no excuse" and that the information had been deliberately withheld.

IMO director of industrial relations Fintan Hourihan said the Tánaiste had made her announcement because his organisation had word of the planned abolition and had written to health service management about it.

The HSE last night described the issue as a "distraction".

It said the substantive issue was "how to get a greater commitment from consultants to work in public hospitals for the benefit of patients".

Mr Hourihan said the category II contract issue had overshadowed yesterday's talks and no progress had been made.

He said the independent chairman of the talks, Mark Connaughton SC, would try to deal with the parties individually in the days ahead to see what could be done to overcome the damage.

In a statement last night the IHCA said that "due to the underhand and devious actions by the board of the HSE that no progress was possible" at the talks yesterday.

"The board of the HSE made unilateral changes to the consultants' contract in early January. Details of this were deliberately withheld from us at our negotiations on January 26th.

"This shows a lack of integrity and trust by the HSE board. Our confidence in the negotiations process has been eroded and needs to be restored by the HSE," the IHCA stated.