Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will conclude with the script. The Government recognises the need for a strong out-of-hours GP service, a key component in the delivery of primary care services. The Government continues to support GPs and out-of-hours providers in their continued provision of GP services. The HSE provides substantial funding to GP out-of-hours co-operatives to help enable them to fulfil their service commitments and care for their patients. This year, almost €5 million in funding has been allocated to Shannondoc through a service level agreement with the HSE's mid-west community healthcare organisation. The HSE has confirmed that Shannondoc has fully reinstated services to their pre-Covid levels. Under the Shannondoc enhanced model of care, where a doctor is not present in a regional treatment centre such as the Thurles centre, a mobile doctor will be available to the patients. Again, from what I have heard, that mobile doctor is based in Nenagh. Shannondoc services will soon operate from the new primary care centre in Thurles.

From my experience of having recently negotiated a new GP out-of-hours cell for the Ballinasloe area with Westdoc, I know that the nurse support is absolutely fantastic. However, despite all this triage, in eight out of ten cases the patient will still have to see a GP. While the nurse will triage, there is still a requirement to see a GP. It is not enough to have only one GP covering out-of-hours services for the entirety of Tipperary. In Galway alone, we have eight cells. It does not seem adequate for Tipperary to be operating with only one.

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