Health service management has proposed that the existing core working week of Monday to Friday for hospital consultants should be changed and that in future senior doctors should be rostered for any five days over the full week.
The proposal, which was put forward by management as part of the talks on a new contract, has been opposed by the medical bodies.
The proposal for the five-over-seven-day working arrangement is expected to form part of a revised contract document to be tabled by health service management at the talks tomorrow. It is anticipated the new management document will contain many of the "core principles" already set out in previous proposals.
These include the type A contract, which would be fully salaried and allow no private practices, and the type B arrangement which would see the doctor paid less money but permitted to treat fee-paying patients in either the public hospital or the planned co-located private facilities to be developed on State land.
The new document is expected to re-state the proposal that for doctors with private practice rights, a maximum of 20 per cent of their output should be on fee-paying patients.
The proposal that consultants' private fees should be paid into a central fund administered by the HSE, to ensure adherence to the 20 per cent cap, is likely to remain.
One of the key issues in the talks this week will be calls by medical bodies for the introduction of a third type of arrangement which would allow some consultants to carry out private practice rights in "off-site" private hospitals.
The medical bodies have argued that there is nothing in the existing management proposals to encourage the 30 per cent of existing consultants who hold the so-called category II contract to opt for the new deal.
Category II contract holders are permitted to treat fee-paying patients in off-site private hospitals. However, such arrangements are not envisaged under the proposed management reforms.
All sides in the talks are understood to believe the proposal for a third type of contract could be a major issue in the days ahead.
It is understood that management will argue this week that the proposed five-over-seven-day working week is required to avoid introducing "institutionalised overtime" under the revised contract.
Management is expected to argue that the new arrangement will be needed to ensure that senior doctors are present in the hospital over a seven-day period.
It is understood that both the Irish Medical Organisation and the Irish Hospital Consultants Association have signalled their opposition to such proposals.
