Medical Laboratory Scientists strike

Medical laboratory scientists' group seeking pay parity with biochemists in hospitals.

The HSE says patients whose care is affected are being contacted and there is no need to phone hospitals. The strike is going ahead after industrial relations talks with employers failed to reach agreement earlier this year. Thousands of procedures and outpatient appointments are likely to be cancelled as a result of the industrial action by almost 2,000 members of the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association (MLSA).

Some 2100 scientists will be striking on Wednesday from 8am-8pm, as organised by the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association (MLSA).

Due to industrial action by the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association, there will be disruptions to services on Wednesday 18 May from 8am to 8pm. The hospital will contact you if your appointment or procedure is cancelled. Delays are expected for those who do not need emergency treatment.

Planned industrial action by laboratory scientists will result in significant disruptions at Portlaoise Hospital on Wednesday, the HSE has warned. The ind.

This is leading to delays for patients with non-urgent care needs and such delays are expected to continue tomorrow. It's understood medical scientists are responsible for over 80% of clinical diagnoses that take place on a daily basis. On Tuesday, the HSE said: “Emergency Departments are already experiencing the knock on effect of this action today as GPs cannot send routine lab tests to hospitals and instead have had to refer patients directly to emergency departments. Behind every sample and test, there are highly qualified scientists. Since Monday, hospitals have been contacting patients directly to cancel appointments. Some limited services will continue but unfortunately there will be wide scale disruption to patients.”

Medical scientists will be picketing Our Lady's Hospital Navan tomorrow, Wednesday as par #t of a nationwide industrial action.

The then awarded pay parity was lost within months as a result of an inadvertent procedural error in the first public service benchmarking awards in June 2002. The role for laboratory diagnostics is currently expanding with increasing responsibility and workloads. The are taking action in frustration over longstanding pay and career development issues.

Medical scientists at hospitals in Galway, and around the country, will be going on strike tomorrow, with more planned for the coming weeks.

It will then escalate to a three day strike during the following week on May 31 – June 2. The Medical Laboratory Scientists Association, representing over 2,000 members nationwide, is to stage a one day strike on Wednesday, May 18. Medical scientists at hospitals in Galway, and around the country, will be going on strike tomorrow, with more planned for the coming weeks.

More than 2,000 medical scientists are involved in the industrial action, which centres on a number of issues, including a demand for pay parity with colleagues ...

The action is also expected to have a knock-on effect on Emergency Departments leading to delays for patients with non-urgent care needs. All routine GP testing services are also suspended for the day. This is impacting on inpatient and day-case elective procedures as well as hospital outpatient appointments.

Around 2,100 medical scientists are down tools between 8am and 8pm today in a dispute over “longstanding pay and career development issues”. It means hospitals ...

“Perhaps the biggest impact will be on planned work or elective work as it is referred to and patients whose work is being cancelled or postponed for today will be notified and have been notified in the last day or so.” “The action lasts from 8am to 8pm today so we expect that will cause quite a bit of disruption across services.” “We expect today’s action by laboratory scientists to have a significant impact on hospitals, including emergency departments,” he said.

Hospitals are cancelling elective surgeries and outpatient clinics on Wednesday as “exhausted” medical scientists take industrial action over staff ...

The hospital will contact you if your appointment or procedure is cancelled.” We are exhausted.” Additionally, people work even longer hours when overtime is needed to cover a sick colleague or leave. “The then-awarded pay parity was lost within months as a result of an inadvertent procedural error in the first public service benchmarking awards in June 2002,” he said. This is the first time these scientists have gone on strike, as they struggle with working weeks of over 60 hours while still waiting on a 2001 pay parity recommendation to be implemented. Hospitals are cancelling elective surgeries and outpatient clinics on Wednesday as “exhausted” medical scientists take industrial action over staff shortages and a pay dispute.

'You could end up doing 24-hour shifts three or four times a week if your colleagues are sick'

The MLSA said that the “vast majority” of its 2,100 members are on picket lines on Wednesday. The industrial action comes after rounds of talks with the HSE, the Department of Health, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform failed to bring about a resolution. The Medical Laboratory Scientists Association (MLSA) chairperson Kevin O’Boyle said that up to 20% of medical scientist roles in public hospitals are unfilled, and that this problem was “worsening”. “The medical laboratory scientists that are working within the biochemistry laboratory are getting paid less starting out than the biochemists, and also the biochemists do have a better career path on top of that.” “We’re all very qualified and very experienced, and bring a high level of expertise to our jobs and our roles that we do and it’s not being recognised.” Hundreds of medical scientists are taking part in industrial action across the country over pay and retention issues after negotiations with the HSE and Department of Health failed to bring about a resolution.

HSE chief Paul Reid said the strike action was causing 'significant' disruption to healthcare services.

The industrial action comes after rounds of talks with the HSE, the Department of Health, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform failed to bring about a resolution. Medical scientists were involved in the rollout and increase of capacity of the State’s Covid testing system during the pandemic. A protester at Tallaght University Hospital Bronagh Maguire told the PA news agency that most medical scientists have “at least one masters, some people have two, other people have PhDs”. “The medical laboratory scientists that are working within the biochemistry laboratory are getting paid less starting out than the biochemists, and also the biochemists do have a better career path on top of that.” Hundreds of medical scientists are taking part in industrial action across the country over pay and retention issues after negotiations with the HSE and Department of Health failed to bring about a resolution. Andrea Byrne Fitzgerald, a union representative at Naas General Hospital, told the PA news agency that medical scientists had worked “very hard” through the pandemic and a cyber attack.

Medical Laboratory Scientists at Ennis General and University Hospital Limerick are calling on the Health Service Executive to enter talks aimed at avoiding ...

The planned industrial action has resulted in the cancellation of many inpatient and day-case elective procedures as well as some outpatient appointments in the MidWest. Today’s twelve hour strike has led to the cancellation of many inpatient and day-case elective procedures as well as some outpatient appointments in the MidWest and across the country. Currently 20% of medical scientist posts remained unfilled in hospitals across the country.

GP testing services suspended, though dialysis and some cancer services will continue.

“As this is a developing situation we would ask patients not to phone hospitals at this time. The starting pay for medical scientists is very low.” The pharmaceutical industry is crying out for people and people are jumping ship. She said the starting pay is too low. The strike went ahead after industrial relations talks with employers failed to reach agreement earlier this year. I am here to promote and protect my profession .. it is soul destroying to train more and more young people and they feel they have no other choice but to go off and work in pharmaceutical. We were able to set up new platforms and use our resources to get that testing up and running. We stepped up to the mark with the Covid pandemic. There has been a drain of highly qualified talent and it’s causing major issues,” he said. “This year is as bad as it’s ever been in terms of recruitment. “We have to speak up for our profession. Medical scientists deserve equal pay.”