THE MUCH-DELAYED hospital consultant contract is likely to dominate the annual meeting of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which begins in Killarney today.
During lengthy discussions between the medical representative bodies and the Health Service Executive (HSE) on Tuesday, an updated draft contract was tabled by employers. However, informed sources in the IMO said the document is not detailed enough to put to a vote this weekend. It will, however, be discussed at length by the organisation's consultant committee tomorrow night and will be debated by the full consultant membership on Saturday.
It is understood all sides in the negotiations acknowledge it will take a number of weeks of further negotiation before a draft contract can be formally put before IMO and Irish Hospital Consultant Association (IHCA) members.
Although suspicion remains that significant delays in presenting a final document reflect the HSE's €300 million financial deficit, the IMO is unlikely to announce a withdrawal from negotiations at the weekend. But a proposal in the draft to introduce a 70/30 public/private mix for existing consultants will be firmly rejected by the organisation.
Among the motions to be debated at the conference is one calling for the Road Safety Authority to establish a structure so that a more timely and detailed analysis of road crashes can be carried out. The proposers of the motion, public-health doctors Declan Bedford and Prof Joe Barry, say that if gardaí were to record details such as road speed, alcohol or drug involvement and the age and sex of drivers for every road accident, it would be possible to identify and tackle the specific causes of road deaths as new trends emerged. In a separate motion, they will ask IMO members to condemn the recent decision not to reduce the permitted blood alcohol level for drivers.
Members will also be asked to support a motion calling for drug-related proceeds from the Criminal Assets Bureau to be ring-fenced and spent on drug treatment programmes.
On the issue of smoking, a motion calling on the Minister for Finance to increase the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes by €2 in the next budget is likely to be passed. Members will also be asked to support a motion asking the Minister for Health to extend legislation on protecting people from passive smoking to include children travelling in cars.
Scientific sessions at the annual meeting will include a debate on the need to establish a structured forensic medical service in the Republic. A session on how healthcare is impacting on the US election will be addressed by the president of the American Medical Association.
The Minister for Health Mary Harney is due to address the meeting on Saturday evening.