Health service management has offered new higher salary scales of up to €216,000 a year for consultants who take a proposed new contract which would see them work exclusively in public hospitals.
Under a draft contract to be proposed to medical organisations today consultants would be offered two types of working arrangements, one with no private practice and the other allowing for fee-paying patients to be seen on a limited basis in public or co-located private hospitals.
The new salary scales represent increases of up to €18,000 a year in some instances over those put forward by health service management several months ago.
However, a proposed bonus scheme of up to 20 per cent has been dropped and consultants would not be allowed to seek additional increases under the review body which is currently examining top level pay in the public sector.
Informed sources said that the medical organisations would be allowed to ask the review body to price the entire package if they are unhappy with the salary proposals but not to simply seek increases in the amounts offered.
The new deal would see consultants in future working as part of teams over an extended working day. Consultants would be rostered to work from 7am to 10pm, Monday to Friday. On Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays management is seeking to have a "structured" consultant presence in the hospital for a five-hour period in the morning and in the afternoon.
Management wants to move immediately to have a "24/7" consultant presence in hospitals in specialities such as obstetrics, anaesthesia and paediatrics/ neonatology. Emergency medicine consultants would have to be in the hospital from 8am to 2pm.
It also wants to negotiate a timetable for the introduction of a "24/7" consultant presence in hospitals for other disciplines.
The draft contract also proposes that there will be new restrictions on private practice for consultants in emergency medicine, radiology and pathology under new Government eligibility reforms planned for later in the year.
Emergency medicine consultants will not be allowed to see private patients in public hospitals while radiologists or pathologists will not be permitted to charge fees for services provided to out-patients.
Management is also to enforce fully the current 20 per cent cap, on average, for private activity carried out in public hospitals.
Under the proposed contract consultants would be allowed to speak out publicly on behalf of patients. However, the draft contract says that doctors should make clear they are speaking in a personal capacity, not cause unnecessary public concern or raise unrealistic expectations and have regard to the possible impact of their comments on the reputation of their hospital.
The draft terms will be given by management to the independent chairman of the talks, senior counsel Mark Connaughton, today.