THE IRISH Medical Organisation (IMO) has threatened legal and industrial action by GPs over a four-year delay in negotiating a new contract to cover the treatment of the State's medical card (GMS) patients.
In his address to the organisation's annual meeting yesterday, chief executive George McNeice firmly rejected the view of the Competition Authority that trade unions may be precluded from negotiating on behalf of self-employed members.
"The arrangement for a general practitioner under the GMS contract is one of an employment relationship and, on that basis, the provisions of competition law do not apply.
"In the event that either the Health Service Executive (HSE) or the Department of Health were to seek unilaterally to introduce changes (to the contract) the IMO is prepared . . . to take appropriate action to defend GPs entitlements in the Irish courts and, if necessary, in the European courts," he told doctors.
Pointing out that morale among health service employees is at an all-time low, with patient confidence "seriously dented", Mr McNeice hit out at the lack of commitment from the Government to deliver a first class public health system for all citizens.
"The HSE policy of diktat rather than discussion has contributed significantly to the lack of confidence everyone now has in the (health) service," Mr McNeice said.
In relation to the long drawn out consultant contract negotiations, he warned the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, and the HSE that the creation of two different classes of consultant in the public health system will result in consultants leaving the public sector.
Discussions among consultants on a draft contract will continue today but it is widely acknowledged that further negotiations between doctors' representatives and employers will be needed before a contract could be put before IMO members for a ballot.