Cork TD calls on Government to address delays in GP access

A CORK TD has criticised growing waiting times for access to local GP services.

Sinn Féin TD for Cork South-Central, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire raised the issue in the Dáil as part of a General Practice and Local Health Services motion by the party.

Sinn Féin called on the Government to increase the number of training places for Primary Care professions, and launch a pilot programme in areas where there is a shortage of GPs for out of hours services and leave cover.

Part of the motion called for the government to invest in a “Pharmacy First” approach to minor ailments and move appropriate care from Primary Care practices to community pharmacies, and Mr Ó Laoghaire said that he believes “more can be done as regards pharmacies, but we also need a strong GP infrastructure”.

He told the Dáil: “Being able to access a GP is like having money in the bank. The security it offers a family is hard to overestimate.

“However, it is too often the case that people trying to find a new practice, perhaps having come to a new area, find it nigh on impossible to do so.

“Even if you are on a GP’s books, it can be difficult to get an appointment.

“Very often, people do not rush into ringing the GP, they want to see whether they will be okay,” he explained, however he added that now people worry that if they do not ring straight away, they could be left waiting for weeks.

Mr Ó Laoghaire added that GPs he speaks to “have a lot of concern about the future”.

“When they look at the classes coming out of the universities ... they see effectively entire classes going to Australia and other places like that.

“In particular, there is great concern that rural areas, areas where a high proportion of people hold medical cards and working-class areas will not be adequately served.”

'CHALLENGES IN RECRUITMENT'

A spokesperson for the HSE told The Echo: “We are very aware of the importance of GP services to all communities including rural areas, and we do not underestimate the challenges in recruiting GPs to take up GMS panels in some rural areas.

“We make strenuous efforts to advertise and raise the profile of any vacancies, so that we attract a field of qualified candidates.

“In any case where there has been a temporary vacancy while we recruit GP cover, we have ensured that interim arrangements are in place and these remain in place until we recruit a GP to take on the vacant panel.”

They revealed there are 319 GMS panels in Cork, compared to 328 in 2019, but clarified: “While this is a reduction in the number of contracts of approx 2.75%, we strongly caution against simply comparing the number of panels in place now and the number in the past.

“In some cases, a panel or lists with a small number of patients may have been merged with another panel so that it is attractive for prospective candidates. This does not mean there has been a reduction in the cover offered to these patients.

“In other cases, the GP giving up the contract has been part of a GP partnership; which means that their partner has the right to take up the GMS panel. Again, this could mean that the panels are merged but the cover offered is not reduced.

“Despite the well-documented challenges in GP recruitment, at no time has anyone or any area been left without GP cover for a GMS list,” the spokesperson said.