Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Like Deputy Cowen I am absolutely outraged and appalled by the decision to close MIDOC services in Edenderry and Birr without any consultation or communication with public representatives or the general public. It is outrageous. We will not accept it. We are asking for solutions to be put forward and for our services to be reinstated, because we will not tolerate or accept this ridiculous decision, which puts patient safety at risk. It was unacceptable for public representatives to learn of these closures from constituents who were unable to access the services a few short weeks ago. People in Edenderry, Birr and north Tipperary depend on the vital basic services that MIDOC offers in these towns. As I say, we will not be tolerating or accepting these closures, so what we want is a move towards reinstating and developing our health services to satisfaction in Offaly. Like many rural counties we are being left behind and we need our primary care facilities developed.

The closure of these services was met with great anger and frustration at a recent public meeting held in Birr and attended by hundreds of constituents. Neither the HSE or MIDOC representatives attended this particular meeting. This was another insult to the general public and to the public representatives. The Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, and the Minister of State have a responsibility here. I am calling for the Minister of State to intervene immediately to ensure that these services are not removed, but improved.

As a TD for Offaly I will be pursuing this issue, seeking for the services to be reinstated and nothing less than that. I outlined this position at a meeting with the HSE representatives and other public representatives from the county only last Tuesday. It was disappointing that this meeting had to be adjourned due to the absence of MIDOC representatives. We were informed at this meeting that a risk assessment had been carried out by GPs who had concerns about the practice of one GP working alone in the centres. While we all agree that GPs should have a safe working environment, who is responsible for a risk assessment for our constituents as patients? They run a risk too if this goes ahead. Patient safety should always be of paramount importance and the closures will have a very serious impact on their safety.

We are all aware of the GP shortage. What plans does the Government have to address this issue? What plans does the Minister of State have to develop primary care centres in Offaly? I call on him to put forward solutions to address this shortage, instead of allowing MIDOC to close vital and basic out-of-hours services in our towns. As the decision to close the services was not based on an independent review, but a review commissioned by the GPs, I am calling for the reinstatement of services. It was not done properly.

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