HSE to advertise for consultants on higher pay rates

The HSE is to begin advertising for hospital consultants on new higher pay scales which have been proposed by the Labour Relations Commission.

However the proposed new rates have not been agreed by the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) which said that talks with health service management on a new deal on pay and career structures had broken down last night.

Under the proposals, pay for newly-appointed consultants working exclusively in the public hospital system would increase from an existing scale of €116,000 - €121,000 to between €127,000 and €175,000 over time.

The proposals drawn up by the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) would allow new consultants with experience to be appointed at an entry level of up to €155,000.

Under the proposals consultants would also have scope for receiving higher salaries for taking on more senior posts as heads of departments or clinical directors.

The IMO had sought to be involved in the process for assessing the relevant experience of consultants to determine which point on the new pay scale they would be placed on appointment.

However IMO director of industrial relations Steve Tweed said his organisation had been excluded from such as assessment process and offered consultations instead.

He said that was not enough for his members.

He said the IMO was prepared to sit down with the HSE to try find the last piece of the jigsaw in relation to the proposed new pay and career structure deal.

HSE director of human resources Barry O’Brien said health service management accepted the new proposals drawn up by the LRC. He said the HSE would be advertising for consultants on the new rates from early next month.

Mr Tweed described as “inflammatory” the HSE’s statement that it would be advertising for consultant posts under the new proposals.

He said there were currently 270 vacant consultant posts in Irish hospitals. He said the HSE under the new proposals might fill some of these but it would not fill all of them.

Another medical organisation representing senior doctors, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, was not involved in the recent talks as it had not signed up to the Haddington Road agreement.

In autumn 2012, the Government unilaterally reduced the pay of new hospital consultants by 30 per cent, a move which medical organisations maintained led to a brain drain of young doctors and resulted in senior posts in Ireland being less attractive than those in other English-speaking countries.

Some highly-placed sources said the new pay proposals would have represented a 98 per cent restoration of the original pay rates for new hospital consultants.

The proposals envisaged that the revised rates would have come into effect from the beginning of September.

Following the cuts introduced in 2012, the starting salary for a newly-appointed consultant working exclusively in public hospitals was set at €116,000 (knowns as a category A contract).

Under the new proposals the entry point salary for a new consultant working only in public hospitals would be set at €127,000.

This would rise in a six-point scale to €155,000.

Subsequently after three years a performance and experience-related increment would bring this salary to €165,000 while after three further years a second performance-related increment would see the pay rate rise to €175,000.

The proposals also provide for some consultants with previous experience being appointed on an entry rate of €155,000, sixth point on the scale.

The LRC proposals also allow for consultants with five years experience to apply for posts as head of departments in hospitals.

A three-point scale would apply for these positions, starting at €170,000 and running to €180,000.

Posts of clinical directors in public hospitals would attract a salary of €190,000, under the new proposals.

It is understood that under the proposals consultants with limited private practice rights in public hospitals would receive basis salaries of between €120,000 and €140,000.

The proposals say that doctors with relevant experience and qualifications should be permitted to avail of an incremental credit arrangement, which would see them being appointed at up to the 6th point on the revised pay scale.

The LRC recommended that the HSE’s Medical Education and Training Unit “be tasked - following consultation with the postgraduate medical training bodies and other relevant parties - with setting a framework for the application of incremental credit which takes account of relevant and appropriate service post-certification of satisfactory completion of specialist training”.

“Management will consult with the IMO in identifying the appropriate qualifications and relevant experience which may be applied in determining incremental credit when making appointments. These criteria should be available to potential applicants and prior to advertisement of Consultant posts.”

The proposals state that consultants who were appointed since October 2012 when the 30 per cent pay cut was imposed, should “be placed on the appropriate point of the pay scales set out above taking account of the duration of all relevant employment as a consultant to date”.

It says this should take effect from 1st September 2014. However there would be no retrospective payments or backmoney.