Sir, - Maire Geoghegan-Quinn (Opinion, October 16th) displayed a rare lack of understanding of how hospitals work, the relationship between nurses and consultants on a day-to-day basis, and in particular their relationship in the context of the nurses' strike. Ms Geoghegan-Quinn claims that "nurses are worried that the consultants will fill the beds with patients whose treatment will, in some way, benefit consultants". She then goes on to claim that consultants fear the unions "will fill the beds with patients the treatment of whom will, in some way, benefit the unions".
Both these statements are an appalling insult to nurses and hospital consultants and clearly demonstrate that Ms Geoghegan-Quinn seems to have little knowledge of the widely publicised arrangements for patient admissions which had been agreed prior to the strike.
I would have thought that the entire population must know that all out-patient appointments were cancelled as were all elective (non-emergency) in-patient admissions. The only patients requiring admission were emergencies or suspected emergencies.
The stance of the IHCA is that the decision on who needs to be admitted is a medical decision. It is the duty of the consultant or his junior staff to whom he may delegate responsibility to take this decision. The consultant has a binding contract with the patient which cannot be delegated to non-medical personnel. Our position is that the protocols which apply when deciding that a particular patient is an emergency or suspected emergency are the same during a strike as at any other time of the year. It is the patient's condition and not the absence or presence of industrial relations problems that dictate whether or not a person needs to be admitted.
Suspicion is not a problem between consultants and nurses and neither is communication. Consultants, while respecting the right of nurses to take industrial action and while recognising that nurses are undervalued, will continue to do the best for their patients during these difficult times. Ms Geoghegan-Quinn's contribution is of little help. - Yours, etc., Finbarr Fitzpatrick,
Secretary General, Irish Hospital Consultants Association, Heritage House, Dundrum office Park, Dublin 14.