In a statement this evening, Caredoc said it had \u201csecured sufficient HSE funding to meet the demands of INMO and SIPTU unions and to end the current strike action.<\/p>\n
\u201cPayment will be processed immediately to all staff, once funds are discharged by the HSE.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe increase in funding has been agreed to sustain Caredoc services going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have requested the INMO and SIPTU unions to seek an immediate return to work tonight, in the interests of patient safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
Access to out-of-hours GP services at clinics in six counties were closed after 6pm this evening as staff at Caredoc GP co-op went on strike in a row over pay.<\/p>\n
It meant the vital GP service, which has seen a surge in people with cold and flu symptoms, will be shut between 6pm and 9am tomorrow morning.<\/p>\n
However, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said no formal offer has been received by unions.<\/p>\n
INMO Industrial Relations Officer, Gr\u00e1inne Walsh said: \u201cNo formal offer has been received from the employer, CareDoc, therefore the dispute is not resolved. We will await the details of discussions between HSE and Caredoc that the unions at the centre of this dispute, the INMO and SIPTU, were not party to. Once details have been received we will then put them to our members for consideration.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnions are available this evening for engagement with CareDoc.\u201d<\/p>\n
Further strikes are planned for December 23, December 27 as well as a 48 hour stoppage from December 29 and a one day strike on January 2.<\/p>\n
Mediation talks were underway between Caredoc managers and senior HSE officials in a bid to resolve the dispute and halt the action. Some sources speculated that the HSE might make an improved offer to fund an 8pc pay increase that is at the centre of the row.<\/p>\n
In a statement Heath Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said: \u201cI have been advised by the HSE CEO that the matters between Caredoc and the HSE which were the subject of mediation have been resolved by agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis in turn should create the conditions for Caredoc as employer to respond positively to the concerns of their staff and make appropriate remuneration payments that will result in the end of the current industrial action.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am particularly pleased with this outcome for patients in the South East who rely on the important out of hours GP services and Community Intervention Teams provided by Caredoc.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also want to recognise the hard work and dedication of these front line staff and I hope we will now see a speedy return to normal service in what is an exceptionally busy time for our health services.\u201d<\/p>\n
It comes as the number of flu cases rose to 3,287 last week with up to 1,100 people with the virus expected to be in hospital over Christmas.<\/p>\n
There have been seventeen deaths from the virus so far this winter but although infections are up the rate of growth has slowed<\/p>\n
Caredoc said out of hours GP services and Caredoc treatment centres would not operate in Carlow, Kilkenny, south Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and south Wicklow. Services in the northwest are not impacted by the industrial action.<\/p>\n
In a public information notice, it urged people to call the 999 ambulance service in the event of an emergency.<\/p>\n
The notice said those with urgent medical needs should attend their local hospital\u2019s emergency department or contact their GP surgery for advice.<\/p>\n
Caredoc apologised to the public for the \u201cinconvenience and disruption caused by this action which is outside the control of Caredoc\u201d.<\/p>\n
The one day strike by INMO and Siptu members began at 8am today.<\/p>\n
Talks between Caredoc management and HSE officials chaired by barrister Hugh Mohan were taking place in Dublin.<\/p>\n
An INMO spokesperson said the unions are not involved in the discussions.<\/p>\n
INMO industrial relations officer Gr\u00e1inne Walsh said industrial action being taken by the union and Siptu will cause disruption at one of the busiest times for out-of-hours services.<\/p>\n
She said it will have a knock on impact on other out-of-hours services in the northeast.<\/p>\n
The unions represent over 200 workers at Caredoc including nurses, drivers and receptionists.<\/p>\n
The INMO and Siptu said in a statement that there had been no meaningful engagement with the healthcare company to avert the work stoppage.<\/p>\n
The stoppages comes as GP surgeries are already struggling due to a surge in flu cases while patients will rely heavily on out of hour services during the Christmas season.<\/p>\n
The unions say they want a Workplace Relations Commission pay agreement for so called state-funded \u201csection 39\u201d organisations paid to CareDoc members.<\/p>\n
This would mean they would get an 8pc pay rise.<\/p>\n
Unions claim the HSE has provided \u20ac647,834 to Caredoc for the purpose of paying the increase.<\/p>\n
A Caredoc spokesperson called on the unions to suspend industrial action \u201con humanitarian grounds\u201d.<\/p>\n
It said in a statement that it supports its workforce and is seeking pay parity for its employees going back to 2021.<\/p>\n
A Caredoc spokesperson said it is unable to pay the 8pc pay rise being sought by unions as the HSE has not provided enough funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is currently a \u20ac3.2m gap in funding required,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMonies previously offered to Caredoc by the HSE were returned to them as it amounted to a partial payment for just one service in one area (the southeast out of hours GP service) and would not have met pay requirements across the organisation as a whole, and were considered derisory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are hopeful a resolution can be reached which will see a full restoration of pay in line with HSE pay scales, which were unilaterally severed in 2021,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said Caredoc services in the northwest are unaffected by the action so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs there will be no emergency cover provided, we will be unable to take calls, provide nurse triage, or offer any support for GP\u2019s on duty such as receptionists, drivers or clinical nurses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will have a profoundly negative impact on patient waiting times and patient care, and increase pressure on hospital emergency departments and the national ambulance services at the busiest time of the year and as flu season peaks over Christmas. \u201c<\/p>\n
He said Caredoc is engaging with the public on alternative arrangements available to them during the strike period.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe apologise sincerely in advance to patients and their families in the south east and northwest for the disruption and inconvenience caused by such strike action,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a statement this evening, Caredoc said it had \u201csecured sufficient HSE funding to meet the demands of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[26022,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-199162","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-anne-marie-walsh","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-top-news","12":"tag-top-stories","13":"tag-topnews","14":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}