Patients suffer ‘decade of despair’ as 10-year Consultant pay inequity sees surge in waiting lists and poorer health outcomes
Latest waiting list figures expose real impact of Government’s decision in 2012 to cut new Consultant pay
Outpatient waiting lists have surged by 240,000 (62%) and Inpatient/day case waiting lists have increased by almost 30,000 (60%) over the past decade;- More than a 100-fold increase in patients waiting longer than a year for hospital treatment;
- Number of permanent Consultant posts not filled as need has increased exponentially in past decade to more than 900, 22% of the total approved posts;
- New Consultant contract must provide attractive working conditions for existing Consultants, doctors in training and specialists abroad required to fill vacant posts in our public hospitals.
IHCA President Prof Robert Landers: “Irish patients have suffered a decade of despair because they are continually denied the timely hospital treatment that they need due to the increasing shortage of hospital Consultants. Since the salary inequity was imposed the number of permanent Consultant posts not filled as needed has increased exponentially to more than 1 in 5. Government policy is driving Consultants abroad, where they are welcomed with adequate staffing levels, funded services and better conditions.”
Patients have been subjected to a ‘decade of despair’ by the growing exodus of Ireland’s highly skilled medical and surgical talent abroad to more competitive healthcare services.
As the latest figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) released today (Friday 14 October) show a near record 907,700 people on some form of hospital waiting list,1 the IHCA said patients will unfortunately continue to languish on ever growing waiting lists, and suffer poorer outcome as a result, until the Government ends the pay discrimination, as the Minister for Health unequivocally committed to do two years ago.
The ongoing pay discrimination imposed by Government on Consultants in October 2012 is one of the root causes of the current recruitment and retention crisis of hospital specialists, says the IHCA, as it reveals new analysis showing that the number of people awaiting an outpatient appointment has increased by 240,000 over the past decade since the pay inequity was imposed – an increase of 62%.2
The inpatient/day case waiting list has increased by 60% over the same period, with an additional 29,700 patients now waiting for essential hospital treatment compared with 10 years ago.
The number of adults waiting over a year for treatment has multiplied more than 100-fold over the past decade, increasing from just 118 waiting 12 months or longer to 12,800 at the end of September. This is clearly leading to poorer outcomes for patients, the Association warned.
Minister Stephen Donnelly recently suggested the Government was 65,000 behind its targeted reduction in outpatient numbers outlined in the Waiting List Action Plan for 2022.3 In fact, today’s NTPF figures confirm the Government is a massive 138,000 off reaching its projected end of year position for outpatient waiting lists.4 This means almost 46,000 people on the outpatient waiting list would need to be assessed and treated each month until the end of the year for the Action Plan’s reduction goals to be met.
Commenting on today’s waiting lists, IHCA President Professor Robert Landers said:
“Irish patients have suffered a decade of despair because they are continually denied the timely hospital treatment that they need due to the increasing shortage of hospital Consultants.
“Since the salary inequity was imposed on newly appointed Consultants, the number of permanent Consultant posts that are not filled as needed has increased exponentially to over 900, 22% of the total number of approved posts.5
“Three successive Governments are culpable of creating and perpetuating the Consultant recruitment and retention crisis which is undermining the quality and safety of care that public hospitals provide.
“Government policy is driving Consultants abroad, where they are welcomed with adequate staffing levels, funded services and better conditions. Meanwhile back home, we have an increasing number of individuals employed as Consultants without having the approved qualifications or registration status, 111 in total.
“It is astonishing that the Government keeps trying to impose decade-long discriminatory terms on new Consultants and expects a different outcome. Such action is in stark contrast to the terms and collaborative approach applied in other countries who are successfully competing in attracting a greater number of our highly trained specialists to pursue their careers abroad instead of in our public hospitals.”
ENDS
Notes:
1. Latest NTFP data as at end September 2022: https://www.ntpf.ie/home/nwld.htm
2. There were 385,462 people waiting for an outpatient appointment as of 18th October 2012. See HSE September 2012 Performance Report and Supplementary Report: https://www.ihca.ie/_fileupload/HSE%20September%202012%20Performanace%20Report%20and%20Supplementary%20Report.pdf
3. ‘Plans to reduce consultant waiting list 65,000 behind target, says Donnelly’, Irish Times, 28 September 2022: https://www.irishtimes.com/health/2022/09/28/plans-to-reduce-consultant-waiting-list-65000-behind-target-says-donnelly/
4. 2022 Waiting List Action Plan, 25 February 2022: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/323b5-the-2022-waiting-list-action-plan/
5. There were 882 permanent Hospital Consultant posts not filled as needed on 3 May 2022, including 473 permanent Consultant posts totally vacant (HSE PQ response to Deputy Paul Kehoe, 11 May 2022: https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/personalpq/pq/2022-pq-responses/april-2022/pq-19432-22-paul-kehoe.pdf). The number of vacant Consultant posts increased to 507 as at 7 June 2022 (HSE PQ response to Deputy David Cullinane, 19 July 2022: https://www.ihca.ie/_fileupload/HSE%20PQ%20Response%20David%20Cullinane%2011%20July%202022%20PQ%20ref%2037453%2022.pdf). Adding this figure to the 342 posts filled by temporary and locum consultants, and the additional 61 posts filled on an agency basis in May, suggested there are around 910 permanent Consultant posts currently not filled as needed.
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