The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has welcomed the news that the Health Service Executive has begun advertising for 120 new medical consultants under the new national consultant contract.
The current round of recruitment will see 120 new consultants posts advertised over a three-week period, including 12 new consultant posts in child and adolescent psychiatry. The first positions advertised are 20 new posts for the Cancer Control Programme, with a further 19 in Mental Health Services due to be advertised on Sunday.
The HSE said the new contracts would see "major benefits" for patients, with the new contract allowing for doctors to work a 37-hours week, an extended working day and rostered at weekends and public holidays when needed.
While the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has yet to agree to the terms of the new contract the organisation's Consultant Chairman, Dr Trevor Duffy described the move as a 'breakthrough'.
Dr Duffy said the filling of the posts is "essential to reversing the sustained cutback in services provided to patients which has [caused] untold distress amongst patients, their families and the medical profession."
"The recruitment campaign resumed following acceptance by the HSE at contract talks that the contractual terms for these posts will be finalised with the IMO", Dr Duffy added.
The Irish Medical Organisation represents 850 consultants and 4,500 non-consultant Hospital Doctors.
