Cynthia Busuttil
Doctors threaten ‘hard-hitting’ industrial action
Doctors are gearing up for hard-hitting industrial action unless issues with both the University and the Health Division are resolved in the coming week.
Medical Association of Malta (MAM) president Martin Balzan told The Sunday Times: “We will issue significant directives across the health service and University.”
He would not reveal what directives were in the pipeline, only saying that the law required doctors to provide emergency service.
The association has criticised the health division for not honouring part of the November 2007 collective agreement which promised promotions for designate consultants.
“Once you block the top tiers, you are telling young doctors that there is no future for them,” he said.
Dr Balzan said there were bureaucratic delays for promotions in other grades, and although the health authorities had secured the funds to appoint higher and basic specialist trainees, these posts had not yet been published.
The other dispute was with the University, which, according to Dr Balzan, was not recognising doctors’ contribution to the education of medical students.
In fact, he said, earlier this year the University started considering doctors who lectured on a part-time basis as visiting lecturers, stripping them of a vote for the University council and senate and not allowing them to vote for the head of their own department.
Moreover, consultants were livid that the clinical training they gave to medical students, who follow the treatment of patients, was unpaid.
Although the health division said doctors were already paid for their hours in hospital, Dr Balzan said: “We are paid to treat patients. Teaching is another service and needs to be remunerated accordingly.” He said a small number of doctors were being paid for this service, leading to an unfair situation.
Dr Balzan said despite these problems the University authorities were refusing to meet with the association, saying that it was not the recognised union on campus, even though it represented the 300-odd doctors who delivered lectures.
The University has refused to comment although a spokesman confirmed that MAM was not one of its recognised unions. “As there are several stakeholders involved in this issue, including the University’s recognised unions – the Malta Union of Teachers and the University of Malta Academic Staff Association – and the health division, the University does not think it appropriate to make any statement at the present time,” a spokesman said.
Questions sent to the Health Parliamentary Secretariat yesterday were not answered.
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M Camilleri
Oct 14th 2009, 07:10
@C.Farrugia Again, your argument is off the mark. Doctors are not asking for a pay rise. They are asking for career progression (as promised in November 2007) and to be paid for the tuition they give to students which, according to this article, is UNRECOGINSED by the University of Malta. And although directives are not yet revealed, right now, at this point in time, it is the STUDENTS that are going to be effected. Not patients. Not waiting lists. But students. Students who, at least 15% of them, are going to become doctors in 9 months time. Future doctors who need to be taught how to manage the patient, "manage the hospital, manage the department of Health, and ... being politically responsible for Health". Fhimt issa?
C. Farrugia
Oct 11th 2009, 20:22
@ Camilleri. You are not a doctor but you are a medical student and are therefore defending your class. For one I can say that in spite of specialists in hospital having enormous increases barely a year ago, they want increases again. In the meantime waiting lists in hospital never grow any shorter. It is useless blaming the government here as it is doctors who see to patients, manage the hospital, manage the department of Health, and to top it all with a doctor being politically responsible for Health -- Dr J Cassar. So whatever is going wrong it is these same doctors who in spite of always getting their way still cannot make the waiting lists grow shorter.
KCaruana
Oct 11th 2009, 18:59
Let's hope MAM sees through it's threats for once. It is NOT increase in doctor's pay that is being asked for here. The main issue is that alhough the government has set aside the funds to appoint higher post staff, they have not appointed anyone. This clearly screams at young doctors that there is no career progression, making it even more attractive to leave the country. Believe it or not, many doctors leave for this one very simple reason - lack of career progression in Malta. The message from the government is clear: they don't want to spend money on PEOPLE, i.e. staff - just on stones - i.e. the building of Mater Dei.
The doctor's anger at not being paid for services rendered, i.e. teaching is also a rotten shame. Who in the world does something for free, and gets stripped of all rights a teaching commitment brings to boot?! The only logical consequence is that they stop clinical teaching - then you'll see how good the doctors will be that come out of uni to treat you in hospital!
Andrew Camilleri
Oct 11th 2009, 17:09
@Farrugia: Did you read the article or not? Doctors are not being paid for giving us (medical students) lectures. Since when is that fair? They are performing an act of charity by giving us lectures and teaching us on ward rounds. You may lie back and criticize, but doctors do sterling work and deserve to be paid for it. I am completely behind them whatever actions they take.
C. Farrugia
Oct 11th 2009, 11:22
Here we go again. Never happy with what they have. Mater Dei with never ending waiting lists and they want increases again. Aren't they happy, after the exorbitant increases they got just prior to the last election. These increases where supposed to have been given, also to increase productivity. There has been no significant progess from the patient's point of view and waiting lists only grow.