Medics don’t feel valued, claims union
THE medical profession is “under attack” and the role of doctors is being systematically undervalued, it’s been claimed.
At the Irish Medical Organisation’s AGM on Friday night, incoming IMO president Dr Peadar Gilligan warned the sector was in crisis.
Dr Gilligan, a consultant in emergency medicine at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, said pay cuts and dishonoured contracts had left medics disillusioned.
He added: “The fact new contracts need to be negotiated for general practitioners, NCHDS, consultants and public health specialists is indicative of the fact doctors do not feel valued.”
He said overcrowding was shameful and called for the introduction of a six-hour standard between the time a patient arrives at A&E and the time they are treated or discharged.
Dr Gilligan added: “Such a [six-hour] standard of care requires hospitals have adequate capacity in terms of beds, staffing, diagnostics, theatre time, and timely discharge of hospitalised patients to rehabilitation services, convalescence, nursing homes or assisted home care.
“In short we do not just need 2,590 acute hospital beds we need 7,000 beds, the associated staffing levels and we need to get started on producing this capacity in our system now.”