Further talks are planned between the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) and management at the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) in Cork in a bid to resolve a dispute over overtime payments to about 80 non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) there.
The dispute initially arose in July when the IMO became concerned that MUH management was proposing to introduce a new system of payment where it would not pay NCHDs for consultant-approved rostered overtime above their regular scheduled 39-hour week.
According to an IMO spokeswoman, the move was proposed by MUH management as part of a cost-containment plan for the hospital, but was a direct breach of the hospital's own custom and practice with the NCHDs at the Mercy and a HSE agreement with the IMO.
However, MUH chief executive Pat Madden strongly denied there was any question of the hospital seeking to breach any nationally negotiated agreements and stressed the focus was on additional overtime above and outside of all consultant-approved overtime.
Now, following talks between both sides earlier this month, the IMO has sought further clarification from MUH management amid concerns by NCHDs that new proposals to pay overtime outside of consultant-approved rostered overtime may not prove feasible.
"We made it clear to management we will not accept any development where unrostered overtime won't be paid and while we are pleased to have received assurances that unrostered overtime will be paid, further issues have to be resolved," said an IMO spokeswoman.
"Mercy management want NCHDs to state the name of the patient that the unrostered overtime relates to and explain the reasons for the overtime on their forms but sometimes the overtime doesn't relate to individual patients but to the general workload that NCHDs face.
"While the Mercy management say that they're not trying to stop unrostered overtime payments, we feel that the particular system that they are proposing seems to obstruct that and our members don't believe the actual proposal of administering the payments is feasible."
However, a MUH spokesman was more upbeat about achieving a resolution and said the last meeting between management and the IMO was "very positive" with "a recognition within the IMO that issues on overtime have to be addressed" and a further meeting is planned.
"A new schedule of overtime is being drawn up with each individual consultant which will clarify what is rostered and what is unrostered overtime in respect of the NCHD - the practice of each consultant tends to vary so there needs to be reconciliation of different demands."
The MUH spokesman said the hospital did not have targeted savings in mind with its proposals and what was envisaged was "a greater efficiency and use of doctors and the application of doctors' time for best patient care".
A study of Irish hospitals in 2000 estimated that NCHDs worked on average 77 hours a week, with the average being higher in specialities, such as surgery, with an 89-hour average week in obstetrics and an 83-hour average week in gynaecology.