Meeting on impact of recruitment freeze told compensatory rest payments are now ‘embedded in the system’
Susan Clyne, chief executive of the Irish Medical Organisation, said the HSE has paid over €1 million in compensatory rest payments since an agreement came into force in January 2023. has “factored in the cost” of allowing doctors to work without rest by paying compensatory payments, an Oireachtas committee has heard.
“The HSE takes the financial hit, so rather than treat the hours as a priority and put in place the systems to allow doctors to take appropriate rest, the HSE has factored in the cost of allowing them to work without rest,” she said. Ms Clyne told committee members that HSE’s recruitment freeze, which has been in place for seven months, has resulted in an increase in unsafe and illegal working conditions with 83 per cent of NCHDs routinely working beyond 48 hours per week.
The IMO said 65 per cent of NCHDs reported being unable to avail of study leave for mandatory exams due to gaps in the rota despite being entitled to 10 days guaranteed study leave every six months. She said doctors receive multiple emails each day from headhunters abroad, while ads outside hospitals and bus stops aim to entice them to Australia.
However, as the population increases, Ms Clyne said the service is “running to stand still” without significant action.
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