Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for tabling this question. It is a significant announcement by the Government and in the future will be seen to be so. The announcement last week that agreement had been reached between the Department of Health, the Health Service Executive, HSE, and the Irish Medical Organisation on terms for the delivery of free GP care for all children aged under six years represents the first step in the phased introduction of a universal GP service without fees. This development underlines the Government's commitment to enhancing primary care and keeping people well in the community. It marks a shift towards promoting health and well-being and away from the old "illness model" of care.

The commencement of the service during the summer will make a real difference to the lives of the youngest in society. It is a major step forward in improving access, the quality and affordability of health care. Under the new arrangements, an additional 270,000 children under six years of age will benefit from GP care free at the point of service. All children under six years will benefit from the new enhanced service under the proposed GP contract. This will involve age-based health checks focused on well-being and the prevention of disease. These assessments will be carried out when a child is aged two years and again at age five, in accordance with an agreed protocol. The contract will also include an agreed cycle of care for children diagnosed with asthma. Under this cycle of care, GPs will carry out an annual review of each child diagnosed with asthma, not just the two health checks, as was said in the House last night.

It is estimated that in a full year the additional cost of the universal under-six service, including the preventive wellness checks and arrangements for the management of asthma in general practice, will be approximately €67 million. As the service is based on the “choice of doctor” principle, the next step is for the contract to be issued to GPs in order that they can decide whether to sign it. Contracts will be issued to doctors in the next few weeks.

The service should be ready to commence by early July. It will be preceded by a public information campaign and simple online arrangements for parents or guardians to register their children for the service. This registration can be completed by their GP in the surgery.

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