Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sure all the Minister's Fine Gael colleagues have similar stories to the ones I outlined in my question. This is a national issue, which is not just confined to the three practices I mentioned. When a list is unfilled, as these and many others are, there is great anxiety within the community. When a GP position is unfilled, there is a loss of community cohesion and an unravelling of the fabric of a rural society. There is a loss of pharmacy services. It is impossible to sustain a pharmacy in a town or village if there is no doctor. No village or town in Ireland has a pharmacy without a GP. There is a loss of support to the ancillary services within the community. There is a loss of community intervention team support, public health nursing support and home help support. When these lists are left unfilled for a substantial period, by the time somebody is appointed, very few remain on the list. When a community loses a GP, there is decreased access to primary care services and to the supports patients get within the community. House calls to the frail and elderly and palliative care work are removed from that area and transferred to the nearest town, where it is not sustainable to deliver that service. There is a lack of sustainability also in out-of-hours services. As GPs are lost, the out-of-hours service struggles to continue. The result is increased attendances at emergency departments because patients cannot get primary care services when a GP is not there. Once the list is gone, it is gone forever. The Minister talks about 22 vacancies. At least 200 practices have closed over the past ten years, which are not counted. They no longer exist. GP services will not return to those towns or villages.

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