GPs, under financial pressure due to cuts in State fees, have been advised that private sector workers' wages can be reduced, writes MARTIN WALL
DEPARTMENT OF Health officials have suggested that GPs who are facing financial difficulties as a result of cuts in State fees could reduce the salaries of staff in their practices.
Since the start of 2009 the Government has introduced an 8 per cent cut in fees paid to doctors under the general medical services scheme and a new single capitation scheme for patients over the age of 70.
Doctors’ representatives have argued that these measures have resulted in a fall in income of about €76 million.
The Department of Health decided at the end of June, following a review, that the cuts introduced in 2009 should remain in place. It also launched a second consultation process on whether fees should be further reduced.
In a report to the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, on foot of the review in June, a senior Department of Health official said that a number of submissions had stressed the impact the fee cuts were having on general practice, particularly regarding the retention of the current level of practice secretary/nurse/manager staff.
The report said the Irish Medical Organisation had contended that most of GPs’ costs were fixed and that the hours of secretarial and nursing staff could not be reduced and pay cuts could not be enforced as they were under legislation for those in the public service.
GPs operating the various State medical schemes are private contractors and their staff are considered to be private sector employees.
However, the Department of Health report to the Minister pointed out that the Labour Court had ruled recently in favour of a number of private hospitals that had reduced the salaries of their staff – also private sector workers – as a cost-cutting measure.
The report said the court had found it was acceptable for the private hospitals to reduce the salaries of staff in order to maintain pay parity with similar public sector grades.
“This would appear to suggest that GPs could reduce the salary rates of their staff, particularly as the source of funding [GMS payments] which assists their employment has been reduced under FEMPI [the financial emergency legislation which facilitated the reduction of pay for public service personnel].”
The Department of Health report to the Minister also said that there had been no evidence that the reduction in GP fees in 2009 had had a negative effect on the delivery of services for patients.
It also said there had been no reports to the Department of Health of any GP resigning from the GMS scheme or any other services because of the fee reductions introduced in 2009.