Minister insists no U-turn on pay cuts

THE GOVERNMENT will not back down on controversial moves to reduce pay rates by 30 per cent for hospital consultants appointed in the future, Minister for Health Dr James Reilly has said.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association on Saturday, the Minister also said health service management would be implementing work practice reforms for consultants from November 5th.

Dr Reilly said the decision to reduce pay rates for new entrants and the work practice reforms being sought from senior doctors employed in the health service were two separate issues.

The Minister signalled that management would begin putting in place the changes set out in the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) proposals, including roster changes, from the November date even if representative bodies had not concluded their consultations.

He said the people of Ireland demanded and expected that the changes which formed part of the LRC proposals would be put in place. Dr Reilly also said there was a general consensus among consultants that the LRC deal was reasonable.

“We can’t continue with a service that is organised as it is currently. It has proven ineffective in relation to the value-for-money aspect with billions of euro going in. For too long government after government concentrated on inputs. How many doctors, how many nurses, how much money. That is not the measurement I use . . . Outcomes for patients is what this is all about . . . For too long there was a self-serving service.”

The Minister said consultants had worries about the effect of the new lower salary scales on the ability of the service to recruit senior doctors in the future.

“These are reasonable concerns. But they are separate issues.”

Dr Reilly said the Government would not be resiling from its decision to reduce the pay rates by 30 per cent for new entrants. He said it was in the gift of the Government to set the fee and everybody knew the country was facing a very difficult economic situation.

In his address to conference Dr Reilly described the State-owned VHI as “the third leg of the stool” in the Irish health service.

He wanted, he said, to see reforms which were being introduced in the public hospital system mirrored in the private hospital sector.

“I want to move away from the system where we charge per day. I want to charge per procedure because that is what . . . money follows the patient is all about.

“The efficient hospital that looks after the patient well, that gets them in on the day of the procedure, that gets them home and does not have to readmit them because of incomplete treatment, they are the ones that will be sustained. The others will run into trouble.”

The Minister also said he would be bringing proposals for the development of the new children’s hospital to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste within the next 10 days.

Dr Reilly also said he was confident the first stage of the Government’s plan to introduce free GP care would proceed before the end of the year.

The Minister declined to comment further on the row over primary care centres and on his decision to add two locations in his constituency to the list of such facilities to be developed. He said he had answered questions twice on the issue in the Dáil.

He said it was “all there” and people could make up their minds.