The Government published the report of the Forum on Medical Manpower and the report of the national joint steering group on the working hours of non-consultant hospital doctors, NCHDs, last year. It also approved the establishment of a national task force on medical manpower to prepare a detailed implementation programme for the phased reduction of the working hours of NCHDs, required under the EU working time directive and Council Directives 93/104/EC and 2000/34/EC. The Government decided that it would consider the proposed development of a consultant-delivered public hospital service following quantification of the resource and cost implications involved.
In order to assess the implications of the recommendations of the report of the forum it will be necessary for the task force to quantify the effect the changes are likely to have on the improvement of services and to examine the workforce changes needed and to assess the costs involved. The task force will have particular regard to the likely benefits to patients, continuity of care, work patterns and clinical responsibility and professional development in a system which is less dependent on doctors in training and more on the changed work patterns of an increased number of consultants. I will bring proposals to Government, including costs, when the task force has reported on this stage of its work. The views of the Minister for Finance will be obtained at that stage. Throughout its work the task force will include representation from the Department of Finance.