May 26 2005
Hospital consultants in Northern Ireland have expressed their dismay and frustration to the British Medical Association about Department of Health plans to cut their programmed work across NI by 1800 hours each week, for at least the next year. This, in effect, equates to removing 53 consultants from the NHS in Northern Ireland.
British Medical Association consultants met this week and voiced their very serious concerns about a recent letter sent by the DHSSPS to all Boards and Trusts in Northern Ireland. The letter stipulated that funding would only be made available for consultants to work an average of 4 additional hours per week.
Last year, 2004/05, NHS consultants in Northern Ireland worked an average of 5.8 hours over and above their normal contracted time of 40 hours per week. However, the Department's letter makes it clear that 1.8 additional hours per consultant must be saved in 2005/06 but that consultants must improve their productivity by 4.5% to make up for this reduction.
BMA(NI) Consultant Chairman, Dr Stephen Vallely, says that consultants are at a loss to understand how they are meant to improve the quality and capacity of service for patients when their work activity is being reduced. He says: "Northern Ireland has unacceptably high waiting lists for inpatient treatment. They are the worst in the UK. In addition we have over 160,000 people who are waiting for an appointment to see a consultant before being referred for treatment.
"If any credibility is to be placed on the Department's Priorities for Action targets for hospital treatment then it needs to seriously rethink this latest ruling of a reduction in programmed work. We have already seen the Department having to extend its target waiting times because they were so unrealistic.
"Prior to the new consultant contract, negotiated with the DHSSPS in December 2003, an independent survey was carried out which showed that consultants, on average, were working 52 hours per week. In this first year of implementation of the contract they have worked constructively with Trusts and Boards to bring this average down to just under 46 hours per week, whilst endeavouring to reduce hospital waiting lists.
"When consultants here voted in favour of this new contract they did so in all good faith. They believed they would be able to work to properly agreed job plans. Yet, the Department has confirmed that although the original intention was to offer them job plans by October 2004, most Trusts here have not been able to achieve this.
"Now the Department wants job plans for 2005/06 in place no later than 1st July 2005 because until and unless they are, most Trusts will have to plan on the basis of hours worked by consultants last year. According to the Department this is not affordable, hence the reduction of 1800 hours across the province.
"The DHSSPS, in its latest medical workforce review, recognised that we need at least another 400 hospital consultants here. Combine this with the current consultant vacancy figure of 126 and now the proposed further reduction of the equivalent of 53 consultants, and we are looking at a situation where our already creaking health service will suffer badly rather than improve."
http://www.bma.org.uk
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