Consultants vote for industrial action over failure to address €50,000 pay gap
Consultants in the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) have voted 94pc in favour of industrial action with just 6pc opposed.
The vote which is in protest at the failure to address a €50,000 pay gap affecting new consultants could lead to industrial action in the New Year.
A spokeswoman said that this “historic step comes because doctors can no longer tolerate the decimation of health services in Ireland, and the life-threatening effect this is having on patients throughout the country.
“The IMO’s key demand is an end to the unjustifiable pay inequality faced by consultants which is based solely on when they were appointed and is leading to us being unable to recruit consultants to our health services.”
Health Minister Simon Harris has indicated he will bring forward proposals on the pay dispute but he wants consultants to spend more time working for public patients which would eat into fee paying private practice.
Dr Matthew Sadlier, former President of the IMO and a member of its Consultants’ Committee, said: “We are deeply disappointed that the Government has forced doctors to take this action, but we have exhausted every other remaining option and all the while the state of our health service has steadily disintegrated under a Government that does not value the welfare of patients.
“This pay issue is the single biggest obstacle to the functioning of our health services and providing care to our patients, and any talk of reform is just spin until this has been resolved. We have always strongly advocated reform, but any reform must be on the basis of delivering better patient care and not simply suiting an election cycle of political ideologies.
“The message from doctors is clear: enough is enough. We do not want to strike but we cannot stand by any longer and watch as our health service is hollowed out and doctors are left to pick up the pieces yet again.
“This is an unprecedented step but also an unprecedented situation. Government policies have directly led to a situation whereby we have unacceptable trolley numbers and waiting lists, 540 empty consultant posts and doctors leaving the medical register in their thousands because they cannot cope with the stress of working in such an under-resourced environment.”
Dr Anthony O’Connor, a member of the IMO Consultants’ Committee, said: “Patient welfare is still our main priority, and as such we will not take industrial action over the Christmas and New Year period when our inadequate heath service will be buckling under the winter strain with too few doctors to treat patients.
“However, in the meantime we urge the Government to come to the table and engage with us so this action does not have to proceed and patients can be confident that the crisis in our health service is being addressed. Nobody wants to see hospitals close, but this is what will happen if the Government continues to sit on its hands and turn a blind eye to this devastating crisis.
“If the Government is serious about wide-ranging reform in the health service then it must address this crisis first, otherwise reform is doomed to failure.”
Dr Clive Kilgallen, Chairman of the IMO Consultants’ Committee, said: “We urgently need more doctors for better care. We already have the lowest number of specialists per capita in the EU and consultant staffing levels fall far below recommended ratios. It is outrageous that the Government has presided over this shortfall and is denying patients the care they need.”
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