Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. General practice is at the heart of primary care, and a robust general practice and GP out-of-hours service is essential to the delivery of primary care health service. The Government recognises there are capacity challenges facing general practice. However, the Minister for Health's ambition for general practice is to ensure everyone has access to a GP when and where they need it.

Currently, there are 2,551 GPs contracted to provide services under the General Medical Services, GMS, scheme. As of 1 June, there were 33 GMS vacancies in the country, which just over 1% of the total number of GMS panels. There are two vacancies in the Cavan-Monaghan area.

While GP out-of-hours co-operatives are private entities, the HSE provides substantial funding to support all co-operatives and covers a wide range of costs. NEDOC Limited operates under a service level agreement, SLA, with the HSE. The HSE has confirmed there has been no change to the funding arrangement for 2022. This year, NEDOC will receive approximately €917,000 for out-of-hours services. NEDOC is also in receipt of substantial grant funding for medical card patients and Covid test referral and assessment.

NEDOC Limited recently informed the HSE of its intention to reconfigure the GP out-of-hours services in the north east with effect from 2 August. The proposals include the withdrawal of overnight doctors in four treatment centres, with the appointment of one central overnight doctor who will manage calls requiring doctor advice by telephone for the four counties. The HSE recently met the chairman and representatives of NEDOC and the company outlined a number of operational and funding concerns. However, the HSE's view is the financial forecast for the company, given the return to almost pre-Covid activity levels, remains viable. The HSE advised NEDOC all operational and funding concerns will be managed by way of a collaborative process using the mechanisms contained within the SLA. Following the meeting, it was agreed the HSE's chief officer of the midlands Louth Meath community health organisation would write formally to the chairman of NEDOC outlining the process for engagement and collaborative working. In this context, the HSE has asked NEDOC to defer the 2 August deadline as the date for introducing any changes to the out-of-hours GP service in the north east.

The Government is aware of the workforce issues currently facing general practice and has implemented a number of measures to address this. These measures include an increase in investment in general practice by approximately 40%, or €210 million, between 2019 and 2023 under the terms of the 2019 GMS GP agreement. The agreement provides for increased support for GPs working in rural practices and in disadvantaged urban areas and for improvements to maternity and paternity leave arrangements. In addition, the number of GPs entering training has been increased steadily over recent years, rising from 120 in 2009 to 233 in 2021. These measures will see an increase in the number of GPs working in the State and improve access to GP services for patients throughout the country.

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