WHO voices concern at doctors' strike

The World Health Organisation in Geneva has said it would be "very concerned" if the public health doctors' strike "dragged on".

Ms Maria Cheng, information officer with the communicable diseases section of the WHO, said yesterday it would "be in the best interests of the Irish population if the strike was resolved soon", in light of the continuing global SARS crisis.

"It is one of the requirements of our advice to governments on dealing with the SARS that there be a fully-functioning public health system in place."

She said the organisation was aware of the strike and the fact that there had been one confirmed case of SARS here.

"We would be optimistic that if there was another case it would be properly dealt with," she added.

Some 300 public health doctors who monitor and contain infectious diseases have been on strike since Monday last over pay and conditions.

The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, has been criticised by doctors, hospitals and Opposition spokeswomen on his handling of the Irish response to the escalating global SARS crisis. In particular, there has been criticism that the public health doctors' strike seems unlikely to be resolved in the short term.

Dr James Reilly, chairman of the GP Committee of the Irish Medical Organisation, said he shared the concerns of the WHO, and called on the Minister to "intervene immediately to resolve this strike".

He said he did not see the point of the SARS expert group meeting at the Department of Health yesterday, "when the experts in this aren't working".

"I am not trying to scaremonger, but the fact is that it is necessary to point out that this country is not in a state of preparedness if there is a SARS outbreak."

Mr Fintan Hourihan, industrial relations officer with the IMO, said members were "surprised and annoyed" that as of close of business yesterday there had been no communication from either the Department of Health or the Health Service Employment Agency since the IMO's letter on Thursday saying it was available for talks on the dispute.

He said the statement from the WHO that the strike should be resolved as quickly as possible, "underlined" the fact that the "situation needs to be addressed by the department with a greater degree of urgency" than his members believed was being applied.

A department spokesperson said the department informed the WHO of the strike, and there was constant contact between Dublin and Geneva.