Harney asks consultants to enter talks

Minister for Health Mary Harney has formally written to medical consultants asking them to enter talks on a new contract with the State.

In the negotiations on a new contract, health service managers will seek to curtail the rights of some senior doctors to treat patients in private hospitals.

Talks between the Government and hospital consultants on a new contract have been on hold for over a year because of a row over insurance cover for doctors.

However, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health said yesterday that Ms Harney had written to the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) and the Irish Medical Organisation in recent days seeking a recommencement of negotiations.

A position paper drawn up by health service management and the Department of Health for the talks will call for widespread changes in the way consultants work in public hospitals, it is understood.

It will look for the introduction of a contract which would stipulate that some consultants could only work in the public sector.

Hospital consultants would also face the introduction of greater accountability on how they spend resources.

A briefing paper on the new contract negotiations drawn up for the secretary general of the Department of Health, Michael Scanlan, says officials of the Department, the Health Service Executive, the Department of Finance and the voluntary sector have met on 30 occasions and have drawn up 20 draft management position documents since 2003.

The briefing note states that health service management will seek to implement key elements of the Brennan, Prospectus and Hanly reports - the three blueprints for healthcare reforms published in 2003.

"The position paper . . . includes such items as a public-only contract, improved financial accountability, clinical audit, teamwork, consultant-delivered services, risk-management, continuous quality improvement, incident reporting, accreditation and peer review."

The document says health service chiefs will identify the need "for the consultant to play a greater role in management while permitting greater opportunities for the consultant to participate in research and education".

The document also says: "Once contract negotiations commence it is hoped to finalise a new contract within three to four months subject to agreement."

The 2003 Brennan report recommended that all newly appointed hospital consultants should have to work exclusively in the public sector. It also called for consultants to be held accountable to a greater degree for the resources made available to them.

The national council of the IHCA will consider Ms Harney's request for talks at a meeting on Saturday week.