MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY IN HEALTHCARE

1. The IMO calls on the Department of Health and the HSE to recognise that healthcare performance metrics should focus on patient outcomes and quality of care – not just on output. 

Proposer: IMO Council   

 

SAFE MEDICAL STAFFING FRAMEWORK

2. The IMO calls on the HSE to engage with the IMO and other stakeholders on developing, resourcing and implementing a safe staffing framework for doctors working in HSE settings.  The medical staffing and skill mix should be continuously monitored to ensure that it is delivering optimal patient outcomes.

Proposer: IMO Consultant Committee

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES

3. The IMO supports our international medical colleagues and calls on the Department of Health and the HSE to work with the IMO and other stakeholders to ensure that when we recruit IMGs we provide them with all relevant induction and supports to enable them to work and pursue a meaningful career in the Irish health system.

Proposer: IMO Council

 

VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION TOWARDS HEALTHCARE STAFF

4. The IMO calls on the HSE to work with the IMO and other healthcare unions to develop and resource a plan to tackle the rising levels of violence and aggression towards healthcare staff.

Proposer: IMO Council

 

BED CAPACITY AND HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE

5. The IMO calls on the Government to increase the number of new inpatient beds from 3,438 to 5,000 under the Acute Hospital Bed Capacity Expansion Plan 2024-2031 and publish a detailed plan laying out the cost’s, timeline and staffing for the delivery of new beds. 

 

Proposer: IMO Council

6. The IMO calls on the government to publish quarterly the actual number of new acute hospital beds, nursing home beds and rehabilitation beds being opened.

Proposer: Dr Peadar Gilligan                                    Seconder: Dr Eoin Kelly

 

7. The IMO calls on the government to recognise that it is the elderly and those suffering mental health crises who are most impacted on by hospital overcrowding manifesting in Emergency Departments and to provide appropriate resources to deliver the care our patients need.

Proposer: Dr Peadar Gilligan                                    Seconder : Dr Eoin Kelly

 

8. The IMO calls on the Government to specifically define healthcare facilities as critical infrastructure in Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan and calls on the Government to address planning issues that are negatively impacting on the development and building of vital healthcare infrastructure.

 

Proposer: Prof Matthew Sadlier                              Seconder: Dr John Duddy

 

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

9. The IMO calls on the HSE to undertake an urgent review of the current model of community-based mental health services to ascertain its impact on staffing levels and patient care and facilitate better integration of specialist mental health services within the larger health system.

Proposer: Prof Matthew Sadlier                              Seconder: Prof Tadhg Crowley

 

PRISON SERVICES

10. The IMO call on Government to establish an inter – departmental group including the Department of Justice and the Department of Health to address the needs of psychiatric care for prisoners in Ireland.  The current model of care is not fit for purpose, and the group should work with prison doctors and other stakeholders in identifying and resourcing staffing requirements, shared care protocols and prison policy.

Proposer:   Dr Sohail Rasool                      Seconder: Dr Mohsin Moola                    

 

11. The IMO calls on the Department of Justice to address the issues of overcrowding, violence drugs and mattress culture which is negatively impacting on the health and well-being of prisoners.

Proposer:  Dr Sohail Rasool                       Seconder: Dr Mohsin Moola                    

 

ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND ADDICTION SERVICES

12. The IMO calls on the Minister for Finance to apply a 15% increase in the excise duty applicable to alcohol, to simply restore the excise duty value to 2014 levels.

Proposer: Dr Mary T O’Mahony                                             Seconder: Dr Ina Kelly

 

13. The IMO calls on the Minister for Justice through An Garda Síochána to implement random breath testing for alcohol with the aim that every driver on Irish roads is tested at least once annually.

Proposer: Dr Mary T O’Mahony                                             Seconder: Dr Ina Kelly

 

14. The IMO calls on the Minister for Health to confirm that the implementation of the labelling provisions of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 (PHAA), will proceed on 3rd September 2028.

Proposer: Dr Mary T O’Mahony                                             Seconder: Dr Ina Kelly

 

15. Illicit markets expose vulnerabilities in our legislation on banned substances by making available synthetic derivatives not covered by legislation e.g. Synthetic Cannabis JJC and Nitrous Oxide. The IMO calls on the Minister for Health to set up specialist medical led unit reporting to the Minister to deal with dynamic significant threats to population health. 

Proposer: Prof Ray Walley                                       Seconder: Prof Matthew Sadlier

 

16. The IMO calls on Government to recognise the changing nature of addiction in Ireland and to properly resource addiction programmes in our public health services for all patients who need assistance.

Proposer: IMO Council

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

17. The IMO calls on the government and civil society bodies to ensure that all communications are made available through not-for-profit channels (i.e. organisational website) so that no-one is obliged to create memberships to Social Media sites to remain officially informed. 

Proposer: Prof Matthew Sadlier                           Seconder: Prof Ray Walley

 

18. The IMO Calls on the Government and/or EU Commission to create a non-advertising, non-algorithmically driven platform which would allow for Government and Civil Society to release information to those who do not wish to join for profit social media corporations.

Proposer: Prof Matthew Sadlier                           Seconder: Prof Ray Walley

 

19. The IMO calls on Government to follow the lead of other European countries and Australia in banning social media platforms to children Under 16.

Proposer: Prof Matthew Sadlier                           Seconder: Prof Ray Walley

ENVIRONMENTAL

20. This meeting calls on Government to take urgent and co-ordinated action as per the recommendations of the Climate and Health Alliance Clean Air Healthier Ireland paper.  Clean Air is a fundamental requirement for the health of the Public, and the harms caused by air pollution are well established, preventable, and contribute significantly to avoidable morbidity and mortality, as well as healthcare demand and costs.

Proposers: Dr Alice Quinn, Dr Ina Kelly, Dr Claire Dunne and Dr Mary T O’Mahony                             

 

21. Given the immediate and predicted future impacts of climate change the IMO calls on Government to:

• Resource and implement the Health Sectoral Adaptation Plan 2025-2030
• Amend the national climate objective in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act towards effective protection of the health of our population from climate change

Proposer:   Dr Ina Kelly                                              Seconder: Dr Mary T O’Mahony                                                      

 

22. The IMO calls on the Government to identify what Government Department is responsible for the implementation of achieving universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all, and what plan that Department has in place to ensure that all unregulated drinking water supplies are verified to be safe, and affordably so, by 2030 in line with SDG 6.1.

Proposer:   Dr Ina Kelly                              Seconder: Dr Mary T  O’Mahony                      

               

23. The IMO calls on the Government to protect the population of Ireland from avoidable lung cancer caused by exposure to Radon by ensuring that the installation of a sealed Radon membrane across the footprint of all new buildings in Ireland and to cease the practice of only focusing on “high risk” areas.

Proposer:  Dr Mary T O'Mahony                            Seconder: Dr Ina Kelly                              

 

24. The IMO call on Government to resource a public information campaign on the health and environmental benefits of Active Travel.

Proposer: Dr Alice Quinn                                         Seconder : Dr Anne Dee

 

GAZA

25. The IMO calls on the Government to increase funding for the International Medical Graduate Training Initiative to extend the IMGTI to enable doctors from Palestine access training in Ireland.

Proposer: IMO Council

 

26. That the IMO ensures it will not invest in any entities listed on the UN Human Rights Office Database of businesses involved in Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank.

Proposer: Dr Angela Skuce                          Seconder: Dr Kieran Harkin              

 

27. This meeting calls on the HSE to urgently engage with the IMO and other healthcare unions through the National Joint Council to address the boycotting by the HSE of the use of Israeli healthcare products and other resources.

Proposer: Dr Christopher Carroll       Seconder: Dr Angela Skuce

 

28. The IMO calls on the Irish Government to work with EU colleagues and call on the Israeli Government to ensure all universities in occupied West Bank are open to Palestinian students.

Proposer: Dr Angela Skuce                     Seconder: Dr Kieran Harkin

1. This meeting notes the recent welcome recent increases in consultant numbers in Ireland but calls on the Department of Health and the HSE to increase the speed and number of consultant appointments noting that the OECD average of consultant specialists per 1,000 population is 2.45 but Ireland is still far below that on 1.44 per 1,000 population.

Proposer:   IMO Consultant Committee

 

2. This meeting calls on the HSE and Department of Health to set minimum on call rotas for consultants to facilitate sustainable work patterns that allow for work life balance.

Proposer:  IMO Consultant Committee                                 

 

3. This meeting calls on the HSE to ensure work plans with split site commitments include realistic travel times from their base site so as not to effectively expect consultants to work longer hours than colleagues with single site commitments.

Proposer: IMO Consultant Committee

 

4. The IMO calls on the government to publish on a weekly basis the number of acute hospital beds closed for refurbishment, infection control and any and all reasons for such closures.

Proposer: Dr Peadar Gilligan         Seconder: Dr Eoin Kelly

 

5. The IMO calls on the government to produce and resource a definitive plan to address the ongoing crisis  of hospital overcrowding manifesting in Emergency Departments.

Proposer: Dr Peadar Gilligan                 Seconder: Dr Eoin Kelly

 

6. The IMO calls on the government to expedite the provision of alternate care for those patients experiencing delayed transfer of care in acute hospitals.

Proposer: Dr Peadar Gilligan                 Seconder: Dr Eoin Kelly

 

7. This meeting calls on the HSE to ensure that all those consultants who, having worked within the HSE as NCHDs, then advanced their skills abroad, are not disadvantaged on their return by being enrolled in a lesser pension scheme than that which they were in prior to their departure.

Proposer: IMO Consultant Committee

 

8. This meeting calls on the Minister for Health and the HSE to ensure the full delivery of all surgical hubs and elective only hospitals. 

Proposer: IMO Consultant Committee

 

9. This meeting calls on the Government to ensure that that the most important metric by which performance is measured is quality of care and patient outcomes. While recognising the importance and use of targets and metrics these must ultimately be used to enhance the safety and experience of the patient rather than being an end in and of themselves.

Proposer: IMO Consultant Committee

1. This meeting restates its support for the independent contractor model for General Practice and calls on Government, through the upcoming Strategic Review of General Practice, to ensure that this model is supported and resourced in order that patients can continue to benefit and be cared for by GPs in the community.

Proposer: IMO GP Committee

2. This meeting calls on the Department of Health and the HSE to recognise the significant capacity and infrastructure issues within General Practice and engage with the IMO with a view to introducing sustainable supports to enable existing GP Practices expand and support newly established GPs with set up costs.  Having committed to providing additional GP training places it is imperative that our trainees are then supported post training to deliver GP services in the community.

Proposer: IMO GP Committee

3. Recognising the workforce deficits within General Practice and the absolute need to increase the GP workforce to meet the needs of a growing and ageing population, this meeting calls on the Department of Health and the HSE to immediately engage with the IMO on sustainable supports to enable existing practices take on additional GPs with a view to partnership and allow for those new GPs to be GMS list holders.

Proposer: IMO GP Committee

4. This meeting calls on the Government, in line with the commitment contained within the current Programme for Government, to enter negotiations with the IMO to deliver a comprehensive Women’s Health Programme in General Practice.

Proposer: IMO GP Committee

5. This meeting calls on Government to fund an Obesity Programme in General Practice that recognises obesity as a chronic disease and enables GPs to deliver a comprehensive package of care.   Evidence has shown that engagement in a structured programme leads to better outcomes.  Lifestyle interventions and medications for obesity have a wide range of benefits and are ultimately cost saving, by reducing the incidence of many obesity related diseases.

Proposer: IMO GP Committee

6. This meeting calls on the HSE to ensure that all future digital health measures do not reduce patient facing time within general practice. Just one additional process taking an additional 30 seconds per consultation can lead to a loss of 10 mins patient facing time per day equivalent to 250 consultations per annum per GP. It is therefore vital that all digital health measures seek to reduce administrative burden and speed up processes where possible to ensure that patient facing time and GP capacity is maximised.

Proposer: IMO GP Committee

7. The IMO call on the Department of Health and the HSE to immediately engage with the IMO on the Mother & Infant Scheme which is under resourced and fails to recognise the comprehensive nature of care provided and the time resource required to deliver such care.

Proposers: Dr Mike Thompson, Dr Trish Horgan, Dr Catherine O’Donohoe, Dr Hugh Nohily

8. The IMO calls on the HSE and Department of Health to reform the domiciliary palliative care payment so that it is payable for care given to all patients with life-limiting conditions, irrespective of diagnosis, and not restricted to a limited list of conditions. This meeting further calls for a review of the payment structure and claims process to ensure that the level of remuneration appropriately reflects the clinical workload involved in end-of-life domiciliary care.

Proposer: Dr Trish Horgan                       Seconder: Dr Mike Thompson

9. This meeting calls on the HSE to engage with the IMO on processes around the removal and reassignment of GMS patients so as to ensure GPs have appropriate patient information provided to the GP at time of assignment.

Proposer: Dr Mike Thompson                Seconder : Dr Trish Horgan

10. This meeting calls on the HSE to increase the locum contribution rate so that it meets the market rate GPs are required to fund.

Proposer: IMO GP Committee

11. This meeting calls on the HSE to engage with the IMO on the national roll out of Medlis with specific reference to ensuring :

• There is no increase in workload for GP practices
• There is no increased cost to GP practices and all equipment {printers, paper etc) will be provided to the GP practice.
• That any changes will be of equal benefit to the hospital and GP practice.
• That extra funded study leave is provided for the time required to train and upskill staff and GPs in this process

Proposer: Dr Illona Duffy         Seconder: Dr Daragh O’Neill

12. This meeting calls on the Medical Council to engage with the IMO regarding the sustained transfer of workload from hospital colleagues to GPs, including requests to arrange follow-up blood tests after inpatient or day-case discharge and to communicate results of investigations carried out in hospitals. The current situation is further exacerbated by the absence of shared care protocols, whereby patients remain under specialist care without appropriate specialist-led monitoring of long-term medications for the relevant conditions.

Proposer: Dr Catherine O’Donohoe  Seconder: Dr Carol Sinnott

13. This meeting supports the National CME Network and calls on the HSE to address the funding for the CME Tutor network ensuring that it can develop and expand, thus ensuring that all GPs have access to membership of a local CME group

Proposer: Dr Illona Duffy                 Seconder: Dr Annraoi Finnegan

14. Due to the serious issues with recruitment and retention of Rural and Island GPs this meeting calls on the HSE to address the workforce deficit  through the introduction of:

• Fully funded IMG posts in single handed rural practices
• Fully funded second GP posts in single handed rural practices

Proposer: Dr Catherine Donnelly                        Seconder: Dr Cristian Cimpoeru

15. Due to the serious issues with recruitment and retention of Rural and Island GPs this meeting calls on the HSE to increase all Rural Practice Supports in line with capitation increases.

Proposer: Dr Catherine Donnelly                        Seconder: Dr Cristian Cimpoeru

16. The IMO calls on the HSE to enable the taking of statutory leave by eligible rural GPs through the funding of a new fully salaried position of a rotating GP Assistant.

Proposer: Dr Catherine Donnelly                        Seconder: Dr Cristian Cimpoeru

17. This meeting calls on the HSE to engage with the IMO on GP Dispensing Doctors so as to ensure that this essential service remains and further calls on the HSE to ensure GPs are paid the same dispensing fees as pharmacists.

Proposer: Dr Catherine Donnelly                        Seconder: Dr Cristian Cimpoeru

18. This meeting calls on the Department of Justice to urgently engage with the IMO to reform the structure and delivery of GP provided medical services in prisons with a view to ensuring:

• onsite facilities are upgraded to high clinical standards
• adequate administrative support for GPs in the service
• contractual terms that reflect the workload and expertise of GPs in the service

Proposer: Dr Sohail Rasool                                    Seconder: Dr Mohsin Moola

19. That this AGM recognises the inequity in the allocation of grant payments under the Winter Additional Hours Scheme and calls on the IMO to:

• Seek a review of the Winter Additional Hours Scheme funding structure
• Ensure that any future schemes are based on the principle of equal remuneration for equal work.
• Establish clear equity safeguards in negotiations so that funding arrangements do not disadvantage single-handed practitioners.
• Report back to members on the outcome of this review within a defined timeframe

Proposer: Dr Liam Holmes                                      Seconder: Dr Margaret Sheehan

1. This meeting calls on the HSE to address the continued failure to fully implement the 2022 NCHD agreement, including but not limited to:

• Complete elimination of 24-hour shifts in all sites and specialties
• Full introduction and compliance with the rostering rules and provision of compensatory rest
• Introduction of a centralised payroll system for both HSE and voluntary hospitals
• Implementation of the agreed upon sanctions process for hospitals for breaches of the agreement and Organisation of Working Time Act.

Proposer: IMO NCHD Committee

2. This meeting disputes the compliance numbers provided by the HSE and reported in the HSE service plan and seeks a full review of compliance with the average 48 hour working week and 24 hour shift, for this to be based on payroll data rather than rosters, and for sites to be fined for both breaches of the agreement and for failure to provide data on compliance.

Proposer: IMO NCHD Committee

3. In advance of the publication of the position paper of Physician Associates, this meeting calls on the HSE, Department of Health and Training bodies to recognise the unique role of NCHDs within the system and to ensure that there is no attempt to replace their roles with PA’s or to place PAs in rosters or rotas with NCHDs.

Proposer: IMO NCHD Committee

4. This meeting calls on the HSE to acknowledge the need for NCHD’s to have work life balance and further provide an inclusive and funded plan with the input of NCHD’s to represent the diverse needs of NCHDs within the workforce.

Proposer: IMO NCHD Committee

5. This meeting calls for further discussion on protected training time for NCHDs, and we call on the HSE to provide specific safeguards as to what constitutes ‘protected training time’. The IMO deem it necessary for engagement with relevant training bodies where changes are implemented that could impact the agreements set out in the NCHD Contract and Agreement.

Proposer: IMO NCHD Committee

6. This meeting calls on the HSE to engage in meaningful contract talks to address the many issues facing NCHDs, including continued breaches of legal working hour limits, breaches of contract and to improve the working lives of our doctors.

Proposer: IMO NCHD Committee

7. This meeting calls on the HSE and the Department of Health to engage with the IMO around an implementation plan for the recommendations from the NCHD taskforce, specifically around issues including the number of IT systems NCHDs have to interface with, predictability of rotations, increase in flexible training , other measures to reflect the changing face of the NCHD workforce Pending such implementation this meeting calls for trainees to be provided with certainty for at least 3 years of rotations so that they can plan appropriately, and such certainty to be for a rolling 3 years.

Proposer: IMO NCHD Committee

8. This meeting calls on the HSE to recognise GP Trainees in practice as SPRs and pay them in line with the appropriate salary scale. This meeting further calls on the ICGP to review and provide clear guidance on the requirements for Out of Hours for GP Registrars, and to ensure Trainees are not required to work over and above these requirements.

Proposer: IMO NCHD Committee

9. This meeting calls on the HSE, Department of Health and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to address the local bargaining claims submitted on behalf of NCHDs as a matter of urgency and provide for payment of these claims in advance of the next rotation. These claims specifically are:
   1. The removal of the first point from the SHO, SPR and SR scales
   2. The increase of the top point of the Registrar scale by 0.86%
   3. Move of 4^th Year GP Registrars to the SPR scale
   4. Addressing of the failure to pay the out of hours allowance to GP trainees on maternity leave

Proposer: IMO NCHD Committee

10. The meeting calls on the HSE to review and improve the induction programmes it runs for international doctors taking up posts in Ireland. This is particularly important for NCHDs who are taking up posts in the middle of rotations to cover unplanned absences and gaps.

Proposer: IMO NCHD Committee