Sir, - Readers of recent editions of the medical press cannot have failed to notice the growing pressure on the Government and health boards to right the wrongs doled out to non-consultant hospital doctors within our health system. In many ways, this press coverage serves only to preach to the converted as the majority of readers are veterans of Irish health care and are already familiar with its inadequacies.
Junior doctors bridge the gap between patient and consultant. The young doctor in a white coat dominates the public perception of the Irish health system. We are PAYE workers and public servants. We are not more important than other employees, but equally important. Therefore, our exploitation is and should be an issue of public interest and concern.
We endure working conditions that would be unacceptable to any other public service body. Our weekly duties regularly exceed 100 hours without days off in lieu of those worked. Our overtime rate is inversely proportional to the quantity of hours - the more we work, the lower the overtime rate. We earn a "half-time" rate for almost all weekend work and on all public holidays. In many hospitals, 30 to 40 hours of work per week may go unrewarded. Several unofficial lunchtime protests during the summer have aimed to highlight our growing concern that we are being ignored. We plan to march through Dublin on Saturday, September 11th to further voice our concerns.
As participants in a deficient health system, we need the public to recognise these deficiencies. We need the Government to respond with something other than its usual apathy and we need the health boards to follow the guidelines set out by the Department of Health and Children. In short, patient care reform must incorporate the NCHDs.
Apparently, we are all working against a backdrop of prosperity and budget surplus. We can assume, therefore, that the public health service stands to make certain gains. We may also assume that these gains will be passed down to the staff on which the health service relies. With recent talk of long-overdue improvements in working conditions and payment structures for nurses and paramedics, it would be a shame to see the junior doctor left behind. - Yours etc.,
Dr Enda O'Connor, Medical Registrar, Louth County Hospital, Waterville Crescent, Dundalk, Co Louth.