Madam, - I congratulate Dr Ashling Denihan for her study on the lack of basic facilities provided for consultant psychiatrists in their early years of appointment (The Irish Times, March 8th). Her findings in psychiatry can be applied in like measure to many other specialities across most hospitals.
We have newly appointed surgeons who are not given any theatre time, radiologists who are told that it could take up to 12 months to give them the basic facilities to read X-rays. Then there is the case of a third surgeon being appointed to a unit on condition that there should be no increase in out-patient or theatre numbers. That is, the volume of work once done by two surgeons would now be done by three. Not exactly value for money.
The IHCA carried out a similar survey of newly appointed consultants in February 2000. One response included the following statements: "In this hospital I worked for nine months from the boot of my car as I had no office or secretary. Twenty months later I still do not have a personal computer, I have no access to photocopying and my clinic is run from an old E&T clinic where five physicians are crammed into one room with inadequate space or facilities for proper safe correct assessment of patients".
There are dozens of consultants around the country who suffer the difficulties highlighted by Dr Denihan. Because they are on probation on their first year they are afraid to blow the whistle on inept management. Recently a consultant in Limerick was ticked off by his CEO for speaking publicly about a lack of facilities. Consultants are advocates for their patients and must be prepared to speak out. The confidence of patients is more important than being in the good books of management. - Yours, etc.,
FINBARR FITZPATRICK,
Secretary General,
Irish Hospital Consultants'
Association,
Dublin 14.