The main doctors’ union and the government say they will strive to improve conditions for doctors working at St Vincent de Paul after the Health Commissioner within the Ombudsman’s Office said an injustice was being carried out when new doctors were appointed to the old peoples’ residence with a higher salary package than Resident Specialists.
The Malta Independent on Sunday had reported back in March how the SVPR doctors felt they were being discriminated against when five GPs were appointed to the residence with a salary package up to €20,000 higher than theirs. They explained that the GPs’ salaries were higher because of a MAM-Government agreement which was supposed to cater for the Primary Health Care Sector.
The newly-appointed GPs were employed on what is called Contract A – meaning they are paid in sessional rates with a salary starting at €46,800. This can increase to €58,480 with Extra Sessions and a Tutoring Allowance. On the other hand, Senior Staff Grades at SVPR have a basic salary of €26,512, which can increase to €27,675 with a Continued Medical Education allowance and Resident Specialists have a salary of €28,420, which can increase to €43,880 with extra sessions and allowances.
They argued that the pay package afforded to the GPs was designed to boost the Primary Health Care sector and was never intended for use at government homes – an issue which was confirmed by Health Commissioner Charles Messina in his final decision. They also claimed that Resident Specialists had to take care of a bigger number of patients and that, in order to earn as much as the newly-appointed GPs, they had to work twice the number of hours. They are not contesting the work conditions given to the five GPs but feel aggrieved because they expect to be allowed to work and get paid on sessional rates as well.
Mr Messina recommended that the government should see to the disparity in the number of patients assigned to doctors and for urgent negotiations with MAM to resolve the “gross anomaly created by the engagement of GPs with conditions which are disproportionately superior to their colleagues performing analogous, if also more onerous, duties.”
The Medical Association of Malta had insisted that the employment of the GPs was carried out “in line” with the collective agreement signed in 2013 and the Parliamentary Secretariat for the Elderly had insisted that everything was done by the book.
When contacted for a reaction this week, MAM Secretary General Martin Balzan insisted that the Ombudsman, “is in agreement” with what he had told this paper previously: that the GPs have been employed regularly, according to collective agreement, that there is no difference between general practitioners with private practice and resident specialists (in geriatrics), and that there is a difference in income between general practitioners on Contract A (without private practise) and Resident specialists – across the board in all specialties.
Mr Balzan said, “MAM intends to continue to take this up with the government so as to correct this anomaly, and have a contract without private practice (available but not compulsory) for all doctors in the public service in the Resident Specialist Grade. This needs a change in the collective agreement with which government has to agree, and MAM will engage so as to comply with the Ombudsman’s recommendations, which in our opinion are correct.”
Parliamentary Secretary Justyne Caruana said the anomaly arises from the 2013 MAM-Government collective agreement and insisted that it also occurs at other local hospital settings, including Gozo General Hospital. “The St Vincent de Paul Residence administration is working with MAM to improve doctors’ working conditions,” a spokesman for Dr Caruana said.
The Parliamentary Secretary said the Doctors-patient ratio was addressed by the St Vincent de Paul Administration, “but GPs (non-resident doctors) are assigned duties in the community whilst resident doctors are only assigned duties at St Vincent de Paul wards. Thus, the doctor-patient ratio in St Vincent de Paul for the GPs reflects their allocated schedule within St Vincent de Paul not their overall workload.”
Dr Caruana also said the sessional rate system has not yet come into force but that MAM is pushing for it. “With regards to the mentioned article, one needs to clarify that GPs at St Vincent de Paul are still being paid on basic scale rates, although MAM is insisting that contracts for sessional rates are drawn and signed as soon as possible.”
The Parliamentary Secretary also noted that, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, no mismanagement has occurred. “It was the management’s duty to address the medical services’ shortage with the recruitment of more doctors after such shortages have been an issue for many years. The engagement of these GPs in the Ministry of the Family and Social Solidarity has resulted in marked improvement and introduction of new medical services for the elderly.”