Sir, - We write on behalf of the health care professionals in the Mater Hospital who are at this time involved in strike action with the health services employers agency. May we firstly clarify the emergency cover provided, which was misrepresented in the article by Padraig Yeates in this morning's Irish Times (April 21st). Physiotherapists will not be involved in the care of routine post operative patients, including cardiac and orthopaedic patients. This has necessitated the postponement of some routine surgeries in various hospitals. Speech and language therapists will not be providing any emergency cover during this dispute.
We very much regret this action, but we feel this is the only option available to us, and would appeal to our clients and colleagues to be supportive of our plight to gain a fair and just resolution to our dispute. We believe we deserve a fair pay deal. We are also seeking a review of our services, pay and career structure because of the dramatic changes we have seen in our jobs and responsibilities in recent years.
We look forward to a speedy resumption of our services with a satisfactory outcome. - Yours, etc.,
Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin 7.
Padraig Yeates writes: My report said that only emergency cover would be provided in all areas, before speculating on what level of cover that would mean in practice once the strike began. IMPACT said that it expected speech and language physiotherapists to provide emergency cover in the case of larynxectomies, as with other emergency procedures.