More than 200 doctors working in community hospitals are being balloted for strike action this week. If the action goes ahead it could increase the time people must spend on waiting lists. The county home and district hospital registrars are seeking substantial pay increases. The doctors are local general practitioners working in these hospitals which provide rehabilitation and postoperative care, Mr Conal Devine, industrial relations director of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), explained.
Salaries there range from £9,500 to £17,000. "We would feel a salary in the late £30,000s would properly reflect the work done, with less for smaller institutions," he said.
In some hospitals there is one doctor in the position, while in other cases the post is shared. "This job is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Theoretically they are part-time posts, but this is not the case in practice."
The IMO, Mr Devine said, had been seeking a review of the situation for more than two years and negotiations had been going on since November. "It is quite clear now, sadly, that unless industrial action is threatened the powers that be don't pay particular attention to a problem."
If the doctors vote for strike action it will begin in the second week of September. "They will have to tailor the service in accordance with resources available. This is bound to have an effect on acute hospital services because they will not be able to transfer to community hospitals, which will inevitably have an effect on waiting lists," he said.