IMO rejects intransigence charge over rosters

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has dismissed allegations that it was being "intransigent" in refusing to agree rosters to implement the new working time directive.

The IMO, which represents junior doctors, was responding to criticism by Government chief whip Ms Mary Hanafin who accused doctors of wanting to hold on to overtime worth €200 million.

But the IMO's Mr Fintan Hourihan told ireland.comthe organisation's primary concern was "patient care" and that it would not be forced into accepting "unsafe" and "unworkable"rosters. Mr Hourihan said "the Government had four years to sort this out but as usual we are facing with a last-minute crisis".

The EU's working time directive will limit the hours which doctors can work to 58 hours in a full week or 13 hours each day and is due to be implemented next month.

The IMO insists that junior doctors be rostered between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. so that they can receive training from senior consultants but the Government says that would mean 129 hours out of 168 in the week would have to be covered by overtime.

Mr Hourihan said the provision of adequate training and supervision for junior doctors was essential for patients and doctors.

He said workload of junior doctors needed to alleviated through a greater "investment in capacity" in terms of more consultants, more nurses and more primary care.

Ms Hanafin said last night that progress could be made in the negotiations if the doctors would accept that not all of them could be rostered for normal working hours all of the time.

She claimed other trades and professions worked unsocial hours and are also covered by the working time directive.