HSE chief Bernard Gloster calls figure ‘abhorrent’ but acknowledges it was in contract
The payment was highlighted during the summer by the Comptroller and Auditor General, who found the consultant earned almost €1m – with around €700,000 coming from call-outs where they came into hospital to see patients.
HSE chief Bernard Gloster said it was “abhorrent” but acknowledged it was allowed under the doctor’s contract.
The consultant used a clause in their contract that meant that, during a weekend night call-out in 2023, they were paid at a rate of six hours’ pay per patient for each of four people treated within a single hour.
That added up to more than €2,800 for the call-out.
HSE CEO Bernard Gloster. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Members of the committee tackled Mr Gloster, who was being questioned on the HSE’s accounts for 2024, and he was asked to explain how it could happen.
He conceded the call-out payment system was not used “in the way it was intended, although in the contract”.
Ten doctors were paid in excess of €500,000 in 2023 due to call-out payments adding to their high earning levels
Mr Gloster said the doctor had a challenging roster due to a shortage of other medics in their unit but more such staff had been added since.
The highest-earning consultants this year will top between €600,000 and €700,000.
Around four in 10 consultants are still on older contracts, including the one held by the top earner.
Catherine Murphy questioned what efforts were made to mitigate big costs. Photo: Brian Lawless
The rest are on new contracts that have call-out allowances of around €40,000 but allow for evening and weekend rostering, which reduces the dependence on call-outs. Ten doctors were paid in excess of €500,000 in 2023 due to call-out payments adding to their high earning levels.
The majority of very hard-working staff, including consultants, who provide on-call services do not come into this category
“In my assessment, these were never intended to accumulate to the level that they have, even where there may be a shortage of consultants to provide such essential services,” Mr Gloster said.
Today’s News in 90 seconds – 25th October 2024
“The majority of very hard-working staff, including consultants, who provide on-call services do not come into this category.”
The comptroller also found that another consultant got €1.4m in compensation for loss of potential private earnings during the period while the individual was suspended.
Committee member and Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy said the “power all seems to be on one side” and questioned what efforts had been made to mitigate the payout.
Mr Gloster agreed it is a “huge amount of money” and said it followed a “mediated settlement” and it was cheaper to settle than to get in to long and expensive litigation.
The comptroller also highlighted HSE wastage of money, including €3.5m due from a private insurer because hospitals has not made the claims on time.
Covid vaccines that had been acquired at a cost of €86.5m were written off and the cumulative write-off to December 31 last is €181m. The committee was told that the extra bed capacity being built in overcrowded University Hospital Limerick should be open and staff by the “end of June 2025”.
But it could take another seven years before electronic records for patients, allowing for the efficient storage and transfer of information will be rolled out.
A HSE app the public can download is a first step and will be available shortly.
