Fifteen junior doctors each received overtime payments in excess of €100,000 last year as the HSE’s overtime bill for junior doctors and nurses increased due to the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.
New figures provided by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in response to a Freedom of Information request show that the overtime bill for Non Consultant Hospital Doctors (NCHD’s) or junior doctors last year increased by 7 per cent to €108.4 million.
During the same period, the overtime bill for nurses and midwives increased by 11 per cent to €34.3 million.
A spokesman for the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) representing junior doctors warned "it should concern us all that we are asking exhausted doctors to lead the fight against the Covid pandemic”.
The figures show the top overtime payment amongst junior doctors, a Specialist Registrar based in Cork, received overtime payments of €134,017 in 2020.
Combined with the junior doctor’s basic pay of €79,008 this brought the Specialist Registrar’s total pay for 2020 to €213,026.
The figures show that a Clinical Nurse/Midwife Manager last year more than doubled annual pay to €138,887 due to overtime payments.
The employee’s pay was made up of a basic pay of €61,331 and overtime payments of €77,556.
Three other nurses, each with the job title of Clinical Nurse/Midwife Manager more than doubled their pay for the year due to overtime pay ranging from €73,416 to €59,757.
Basic pay
The figures show that of the 25 overtime earning junior doctors, 21 received more overtime pay than they received in basic pay.
Two other junior doctors received in excess of €120,000 in overtime payments last year with five others receiving overtime payments between €110,000 and €120,000 with a further seven receiving overtime payments between €100,000 and €110,000.
One Registrar based in Cork received overtime payments of €120,255 bringing the junior doctor’s total pay to €183,934.
Another Registrar based in Galway received total pay of €222,050 last year that included overtime pay of €120,189.
A spokesman for the IMO said on Monday: "To receive the level of overtime of the top ten earners listed, it would require even the most senior Non Consultant Hospital Doctors in Ireland to work over 70 hours a week every week of the year."
This is an unacceptable situation and runs counter to professed HSE policy on NCHD working hours.
He stated: “This is an unacceptable situation and runs counter to professed HSE policy on NCHD working hours. It also runs counter to Irish and European Union laws which require employers to ensure their employees do not work on average more than 48 hours a week."
He added: “Working such hours can exact a serious personal and professional toll on doctors, who have a very stressful job, and who are currently asked to work in conditions of extreme stress in a service stretched to its very limits.
“What has also been thrown into very stark relief by the pandemic is that we didn’t have enough doctors to do the work required prior to Covid, and it’s only become worse with thousands of healthcare workers sidelined due to Covid-19, either through infection, or the need to restrict their movements."
He stated: "The IMO continues to monitor NCHD working hours, and will assist members who wish to take individual rights based cases on excessive working hours."
Understaffing
Irish Nurses and Midwives Organsiation (INMO) General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said: "A big overtime bill is a clear sign of serious understaffing. This is a time for all hands on deck, so it's no surprise that the overtime bill has grown again.
"But even without Covid, Ireland's health service relied heavily on overtime and agency staff. This is not only an expensive way to do things, but shows how understaffed the health service is.
"Up until March 2020, the Government was clinging on to a recruitment freeze in the HSE. This misguided policy must never again be repeated."
Ms Ní Sheaghdha stated: "We need to recruit all the staff we can and double down on safety measures to keep our frontline staff safe. Relying on staff to go beyond their hours is not a proper solution - for staff or patients.”
Sinn Féin Health spokesman, David Cullinane TD stated: "These figures reflect what we are hearing from staff on the ground – the health service is chronically understaffed. We do not have enough nurses, midwives, doctors, consultants and beyond.
He stated: "The pandemic has brought additional strains, and the overtime bill reflects this. We are squeezing more and more out of a workforce that is already overworked – this is having real consequences for those workers and their own health.
He added: "The best reward we can give healthcare workers is the normal work week that they want."
A HSE statement accompanying the figures stated that “increased absences and service demands resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic have significantly impacted on the requirement for overtime utilisation in 2020".
