The Minister for Health will meet with representatives of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) and Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) this evening to discuss the decision of a British-based medical defence organisation not to cover up to 10 consultant obstetricians in the State against negligence claims.
Last week the Medical Defence Union wrote to up to 10 obstetricians informing them it was refusing to cover alleged past negligence claims against them.
The union has been negotiating with the Department of Health over who should cover claims against consultants for past events since the introduction of State liability for doctors and hospitals in February.
The MDU claims it cannot afford the historic claims, which it says could amount to €400 million. The sides met last in July and have not met since.
The Irish Hospital Consultants' Association has said the consultants concerned were very worried and claimed the MDU was trying to shirk its responsibly of any case it could face in the State.
The Department, which will meet both the IMO and the IHCA separately, has called on the MDU to reverse its decision and is planning a challenge to the MDU decision.
Talks on what form a challenge should take have been held between the Department and the Attorney General's office.
The background to the dispute was the steep rise in the level of awards in for obstetric cases. The MDU more than quadrupled subscriptions from €86,340 per annum, in 1999, to €499,000 two years later, resulting with obstetricians transferring to a second insurer, the Medical Protection Society (MPS).
Following this the MDU was left with liability for cases concerning clinical events prior to 2001 without the benefit of ongoing subscriptions. It claims its liabilities are far in excess of what was taken in subscriptions.
