Sir, – I support Dr Mark O’Kelly’s call for an end to the inhumane and unsafe rostering arrangements for junior doctors (January 25th). Yes, we all worked the same ridiculous hours when we were in training. It wasn’t right then and it isn’t right now. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Recent public discourse on NCHD working hours has lifted the lid on an issue that has been taboo among doctors for many years. Until now, the prevailing attitude has been that 100-hour weeks were a necessary evil to be endured by any Irish medic. It is long overdue for the profession to challenge that archaic outlook and reform its – and society’s – expectations of junior doctors. Similarly, the time is ripe for the HSE to implement the reforms necessary to safeguard patient safety and doctors’ wellbeing. As the doctors of tomorrow, we want the quality of care we provide to our patients to be dictated not by the fatigue and strain imposed by dangerous working conditions, but by the knowledge and skill we have built over years of study. NCHDs must now be seen and treated not as machines, but as people who have families, friends, commitments and interests outside of their hospital jobs. To achieve and maintain 21st-century standards of care for patients the HSE must implement 21st-century working conditions for doctors. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Surely the solution is staring us in the face? Make more places available in Irish universities with the caveat that the first four to five years post-graduation are spent in Irish hospitals.
Thereafter ensure that enough doctors are employed on well-paid contracts and on flexible working rosters putting an end to the need for overtime.
The current system appears to be a mismatch of universities reserving places for high fee paying foreign students, protectionism by the medical profession with a twist of some sort of outdated “rite of passage” 30-hours plus working pattern. Nor should we forget the safety of the person who should be at the centre of this debate: the patient. – Is mise,
Sir, – I refer to Dr Mark O’Kelly’s letter (January 25th) concerning the support of hospital consultants for their non consultant hospital doctor (NCHD) colleagues. Hospital consultants fully support the position of their NCHD colleagues on the urgent need to reduce their working hours. Their experience and that of other front line staff is clear evidence of the overstretched and under-resourced state of hospital services. Consultants have repeatedly drawn attention to the lack of medical staffing and planning in our hospitals.
While the Hanly Report in 2003 set out recommendations that would reduce NCHD hours, they have not been implemented by the HSE or the Department of Health in the past 10 years. For example, the number of consultants is still only about two-thirds of the 3,600 consultant posts recommended by Hanly.
Based on international comparisons Ireland has one of the lowest number of consultants on a per capita basis. As a result, the burden of work and responsibility on the shoulders of consultants and NCHDs is far in excess of medical staff in other countries.
The human resource function of the HSE and Department of Health have been tasked for many years to deal effectively with this issue, with the assistance of countless reports and task forces. – Yours, etc,