The group representing Irish hospital consultants has warned that the standard of care in Irish hospitals is “deteriorating sharply.”

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has warned that the failure to fill hundreds of full-time posts in hospitals is putting patient safety at risk.

It comes after 90% of its members said a lack of suitably qualified consultants was leading to decline in patient care and warned that hospitals will be unable to continue offering the current level of service to patients if issues with recruitment and retention are not resolved urgently.

“The health service has failed to fill up to one third of the Consultant posts advertised in recent years, and more than one third of posts advertised received zero or just one application,” said IHCA President, Dr Donal O’Hanlon.

“This is directly due to the deliberate Government discrimination against new entrant consultants.

“The Government must end this discrimination by restoring pay parity, so that the required number of highly trained specialists are attracted to take up the increasing number of vacant consultant posts in our hospitals.”

 

Patient safety

This afternoon, Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patients Association said the government needs to listen to the consultant’s warnings.

“Patient safety is an issue throughout the healthcare system and I think at the end of the day we must pay attention to what the hospital consultants are saying," he said.

“They are the people at the front-line for patients that need access to consultants.

“They are saying those lists are going to get longer and something urgently needs to be done about that in the interests of patients – not any other vested interest.”

Waiting lists

Noting that Ireland’s waiting lists are “already huge,” he said the survey will make worrying reading for patients.

“This is a patient safety issue and the problem is that many areas of our healthcare system – whether it is overcrowding in the ED departments or staff shortages – is putting patients at risk,” he said.

“Patients are being affected by these shortages.

“While they talk about the number of vacant consultants posts, there are also posts that are actually filled but they haven’t been taken up.”

"Pay discrimination"

The IHCA said it surveyed 900 members for the study – with 95% blaming “pay discrimination” against newly hired consultants for the failure to fill full-time positions.

Consultants employed after October 2012 are paid 30% less than their colleagues hired before that date.

The survey also found that more than three quarters of consultants believe patient waiting times have deteriorated over the last 12 months.

Some 80% of the consultants surveyed said they expect to see waiting lists for outpatient appointments increase again this year.

More than half warned that between one and three permanent consultant posts in their own speciality at the hospital they work in is currently filled on a temporary, locum or agency basis.