Hospital consultants have told Minister for Health Mary Harney there is now "widespread disenchantment" among senior doctors with the Health Service Executive (HSE).
The move comes as the independent chairman of the negotiations on a new contract for hospital consultants, senior counsel Mark Connaughton, is expected to say, possibly today, whether he considers there is any point in continuing with the negotiations.
In a letter sent at the weekend, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) sought a meeting with the Minister to express its concerns regarding the HSE and how the health service was being run.
The IHCA said the high level of dissatisfaction among consultants with the HSE arose not just as a result of the lack of progress in the negotiations on a new contract but also stemmed from difficulties in getting decisions made within the new health service structures. It said consultants were also unhappy as a result of "their inability to identify HSE personnel responsible for certain decisions in order to obtain explanations for such decisions".
Senior consultants in many hospitals are particularly concerned at the increased level of cancellations of elective or non-urgent procedures. They believe this is being done by management to free up beds for patients admitted through A&E departments to meet Government and HSE targets in this area.
The IHCA is to hold an extraordinary general meeting of members on Sunday, January 28th, which will consider a motion of no confidence in the board and HSE senior management.
In its letter, the IHCA also said its national council executive believed a meeting with the Minister could be beneficial in the circumstances.
The IHCA's decision to seek a meeting with Ms Harney comes at a crucial time for relations between the Government and hospital consultants. The talks between consultants and health service employers on a new contract had been stalled for months up to last November because of the HSE board's decision to abolish a form of contract - the so-called category II contract - which allowed for some senior doctors to treat fee-paying patients in public hospitals. The negotiations are now deadlocked again.
The HSE said last night it honoured its commitment to appoint category II consultants during resumed talks between the sides in November and December. It said eight category II posts had been approved. Furthermore, it said it funded 114 new consultant posts and 64 replacement posts during 2006.
Ms Harney has repeatedly said she would move to impose a new "public only" contract on consultants in the event of the talks process breaking down. The medical organisations representing consultants said they would oppose such a move.
The IHCA has also signalled that it will not co-operate with the Government's plans to develop private hospitals on the campuses of public institutions in the event of the row over the contract escalating.
The HSE is to have key talks with potential investors in these proposed new private facilities in the weeks ahead with a view to signing contracts by Easter. The IHCA move is thought to be aimed at generating uncertainty in developers' minds and their financial backers about the plans.