The Irish Hospital Consultants Association believes the North Eastern Health Board misused a clause in the contract of one member to place him on enforced administrative leave. The IHCA national executive is to seek a meeting with the incoming secretary general of the Department of Health, Mr Michael Kelly, to seek assurances that the tactic will not be repeated.
The IHCA's national executive agreed on Saturday that the board's interpretation of a disciplinary clause in the consultants' common contract was only intended for use in crises where the immediate safety of patients and colleagues was under threat. The clause enables a health board or hospital chief executive to place a consultant on immediate administrative leave with pay pending an investigation. The clause was used recently by the North Eastern Health Board against consultant physician Mr Colman Muldoon during a dispute over the length of time which he kept his patients in hospital. The average length of stay of Mr Muldoon's patients is 10.8 days, 2.1 days longer than the hospital's average stay for general medicine.
The IHCA secretary general, Mr Finbarr Fitzpatrick, said unless the assurances were provided by the Department, forthcoming negotiations about flexibility of consultants would be clouded by the issue. "If the atmosphere is going to be entirely negative during these discussions, it is unlikely that worthwhile progress will be made," he added.
Saturday's meeting was also reminded that the Medical Council's 1998 guidelines for medical practitioners noted that doctors had a place in helping to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources and in giving advice on their allocation.
"Lack of facilities does not excuse failure to help patients," the guidelines note. "Doctors have an obligation to point out deficiencies to the appropriate authorities but do not have to yield to pressures for cost savings by acting against the interests of patients."