'Docs' pay has increased substantially'

The pay of doctors in Ireland has increased substantially in recent years, according to the latest report on the Irish economy from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The OECD says doctors' remuneration has increased to the point where Irish doctors are now among the most highly paid among OECD countries.

Addressing the Dail Public Accounts Committee yesterday, Department of Health Secretary General Michael Scanlon said the deferral of part of the major pay increase awarded to consultants earlier this year for accepting a new contract will be reviewed in September 2010.

Consultants have already received pay increases averaging around €30,000 per head for accepting the contract, which involves involving longer hours and some restrictions on private practice.

Mr Scanlan said the review of paying the remaining monies owed to consultants was without prejudice to any decisions the Government might make in the interim into the pay of senior public service grades.

Meanwhile, the OECD report shows that Irish GPs have the second highest remuneration in OECD countries, after Britain.

Irish consultants, according to the report, have the fourth highest earnings among OECD countries.

The OECD says the structure and staffing of the HSE creates a significant burden of overheads, with spending going into administration rather than on frontline services or reforming how services are delivered.

It says improving primary healthcare by establishing primary care teams across the country is a key challenge and would both improve services and reduce costs, in part by reducing unnecessary pressure on the hospital system.

However, the OECD notes that progress on this is advancing slowly and is partly held back by administrative problems.

Its report adds that it is difficult to assess health service productivity gains as the measurement of outputs is difficult.

It says in Ireland, the number of hospital beds per capita hass fallen over time with shorter stays, which is encouraging. However, the number of procedures per physician seems to have declined.

The OECD warns that with savings totalling around €800 million needing to be made in health service next year, there is a danger that a search for economies could adversely affect services, as in the short-term, reducing wage costs will be difficult.

[Posted: Fri 06/11/2009]