Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 21: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the situation with regard to agreement of a common contract between the Health Service Executive and consultants; the process of implementation of such an agreement; if the appointment of promised additional consultants can proceed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2731/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Talks with the Irish Hospital Consultants Association came to a successful conclusion on 25th January 2008. The Independent Chairperson of the negotiations, Mark Connaughton SC, is preparing a report setting out the agreed terms. A new employment contract will then be drafted.

There will be three types of contract

Type A (Salary up to €240,000) — consultants will be paid a public salary and will not have any private fee income;

Type B (Salary up to €220,000) — consultants may have private fee income for work done on the public hospital campus but at least 80% of their clinical/patient output must be public patients; and

Type C (Salary up to €175,000) — will apply only in exceptional situations and will allow the appointee to treat private patients outside the public hospital campus.

Some of the other key features of the agreement include:

The working week will be 37 hours

An extended working day (8am — 8pm), Monday to Friday, will be introduced

Consultants may be required to work up to 5 hours structured overtime on Saturdays and Sundays to expand access for patients/clients to consultant provided services.

Consultants will be led and managed by fellow clinicians. This will entail the appointment of Clinical Directors to manage clinical services, budgets and lead the development of services for patients;

Consultants will now, as part of their contract, work in teams to deliver consultant-provided rather than consultant-led services to patients.

The agreement will enable the HSE to recommence its consultant recruitment programme and will facilitate the implementation of Government policy to increase substantially the number of consultants in the public health services in order to re-balance the ratio between consultant and non-consultant hospital doctors and to move to a consultant delivered service, where patients in public hospitals will be seen and treated by a consultant.