The Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive Employers Agency (HSE EA) and the Assistant General Secretary of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) clashed publicly over whether money was an issue in consultant contract negotiations.
Speaking on a panel discussion about reforming work practises in the health service at the fourth National Healthcare Summit in Dublin, Mr Donal Duffy said money had nothing to do with the breakdown in contract talks.
Reiterating the IHCA’s longstanding position on the talks, Mr Duffy said the IHCA is, in principle, close to agreement on a number of issues but the HSE continually creates new impediments every time progress is made.
He said the IHCA believes that a public-only contract- rather than a range of contracts- will disenfranchise the 50 per cent of the population who do not have health insurance from being treated by the “brightest brains in medicine”. That is, the IHCA believes top consultants will gravitate toward the private sector.
Mr Duffy also said the implementation of multi-disciplinary teams and their learership needs to be clarified. He added that the HSE wants to incentivise the work of consultants to see more patients, which the IHCA believes is not in the patients’ interest.
Mr Duffy said money was not the issue, and the IHCA did not discuss remuneration during talks. Mr Barry responded by saying that money was certainly an issue, in particular money consultants can earn in private practice.
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