Ahern differs with Harney on hospital consultant talks

Heinrich

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2007/0130/1169680969201.html

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern last night seemed on a collision course with Health Minister Mary Harney over how to deal with the impasse over talks with hospital consultants on a new contract.

Looks like a slap on the wrist for Harney on this one. Also looks like Bertie is a wannabee dictator.

Can anyone make any sensee of this latest nonsense?

El Stuntman

Heinrich wrote:

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2007/0130/1169680969201.html


Looks like a slap on the wrist for Harney on this one. Also looks like Bertie is a wannabee dictator.

Can anyone make any sensee of this latest nonsense?

I can't help you make any sense of it but I'm glad the government is finally standing up to a Group (one of many) that thinks the health system is their own personal plaything

Bertie hates confrontation so not suprising he's wimping out again if this article is correct.

imo, the public sector interest groups in general need an Irish Thatcher to beat them into shape....I'm sick of them all (yes that's you - Gardai, nurses, doctors, teachers, civil servants, bus drivers, train drivers...you name it) being indulged in their ridiculous demands at the expense of the private sector. This will be the long-run factor that kills the Celtic Tiger :mad:

lostexpectation

El Stuntman wrote:

I can't help you make any sense of it but I'm glad the government is finally standing up to a Group (one of many) that thinks the health system is their own personal plaything

Bertie hates confrontation so not suprising he's wimping out again if this article is correct.

imo, the public sector interest groups in general need an Irish Thatcher to beat them into shape....I'm sick of them all (yes that's you - Gardai, nurses, doctors, teachers, civil servants, bus drivers, train drivers...you name it) being indulged in their ridiculous demands at the expense of the private sector. This will be the long-run factor that kills the Celtic Tiger :mad:

ah yes the poor old private sector why won't they just leave it alone :rolleyes:

The_Minister

This pisses me off big-time. This is an important step in reforming the health service, and is a brave move by Harney (its one of the biggest lobby groups in Ireland) just in front of an election. Other ministers have tried to take them on and lost badly, yet the Taoiseach won't even support her. Its not good. Even Fine Gael (who could have made a good number of votes by opposing the changes), have done the decent thing and backed Harney. Why an't the Taoiseach:mad:

El Stuntman

The_Minister wrote:

Even Fine Gael (who could have made a good number of votes by opposing the changes), have done the decent thing and backed Harney. Why an't the Taoiseach:mad:

because Bertie will always put Fianna Fail's electoral interests ahead of the country's interests perhaps?

McDowell for Taoiseach!!! That'll learn 'em....

InFront

I think more consultants would be very welcome. There is a wealth of excellent potential consultants in the senior registrar pool, particularly amongst the traditionally un-promoted immigrant medics. However, this would seem to be the most reasonable concern at the moment...

Its secretary general, Finbarr Fitzpatrick, said Ms Harney seemed to be set on recruiting new consultants without any reference to the fact that they would need extra facilities such as beds and theatres to do their work.

Where does she want them to do their consulting, out in the car park?

is_that_so

That chap was savaged by Brian Dobson on the evening news a few nights back. A very poor performance by someone who had nothing concrete at all to say. The consultants themselves, at their meeting, jumped up and down and threw their rattles about. As a group I doubt they will generate very much sympathy.
IMO one of the best decisions to come out of the current government in some time and one that has to be resolved. Bertie is Mr consensus and unless he is going to oppose it, I think he was just reflecting how he would do things. If he does come out against it an opportunity will have been lost to have something to genuinely claim credit for.

partholon

cant say im surprised, half of FF are from the professions that need to be reformed and they know if the consultants are tackled now the barristers , teachers and vintners wont be far behind.

that said im continually amazed at how bertie seems to convince people in the media that "im just running the country, what can i do"

The_Minister

InFront wrote:

Where does she want them to do their consulting, out in the car park?

You seem to be assuming that we have all the consultants that we need, where they are needed and at the times they are needed at. We don't.

InFront

I didn't assume that at all, I happen to understand very well the consultant/ NCHD problem, and I don't see why you would make the above suggestion.

My point was that while more consultants would be a good thing, it detracts from the greater issue, and that is micky mouse beaurocracy on behalf of the HSE, shoddy and inadequate hospital facilities, and chronic failures on behalf of the government that won't be resolved by hurrying around new contracts before the next election.

This is the same authority who recently had to face up to the embarrassment of telling patients it did not having enough trollies, let alone beds in one of its hospitals (Limerick Regional) and ended up compromising the ambulance service by borrowing theirs.

New consultants are going to need theatres, beds and laboratories. Where are they?

Vorsprung

^^What InFront said.

There's no provision for extra space for consulting rooms for outpatient clinics either, so not sure how they're planning on cutting down these waiting lists for outpatient appointments. And then once they've decided to do procedures on those attending surgical clinics, where's the space for those!? In Vincent's (Elm Park), they've gone from 10 theatres in the old building to 8 in the new building, and the plan (as I last heard it) was to close the old ones.

Classic Irish future proofing.