Hospitals pay huge sums to agency consultants

Public hospitals in Galway and Limerick are forking out exorbitant agency rates for consultants every year, the National Director of Acute Hospitals has conceded.

Dr Tony O’Connell confirmed to a Dáil committee on health that some 50 consultants, each costing agency rates of €300,000 a year, are being employed in Galway and Limerick.

Dr O’Connell said there were “huge challenges” in trying to attract consultants to deliver certain services at public hospitals in the west.

Responding to queries in relation to a Waterford hospital, Dr O’Connell said there are particular difficulties in the West in attracting consultants in areas such as dermatology.

“There are not enough dermatologists to do that rotation (in Waterford) at the moment. Certainly, patients can receive a consultation in other centres but currently there are not enough consultants to cover every hospital in the country for each of the potential sessions that are available. We are finding that we have to pay agency rates for a number of consultants nationally.

“For example, we are currently employing at least 50 consultants at a cost of €300,000 per annum to provide services in places like Limerick and Galway. There are huge challenges in attracting consultants to deliver these services and there is only so much work that individual consultants can do,” said Dr O’Connell.

In Waterford, and in the West, he said the health service is having difficulties with the recruitment of dermatologists.

“Clearly, we would like with the development of hospital groups to have a shared service across all of the hospitals within the group. However, that is limited by the absolute number of hours the consultants can provide.

“Nationally, especially in the middle and west of the country, there are challenges in getting consultants across a range of specialties. The plan is not to shrink the service but to provide the service that is possible within the context of the number of consultants available and employed,” added Dr O’Connell.

When he was appointed to the position in May, Dr O’Connell said costs at the State’s acute hospitals were running at “unsustainable” levels.