Results 7,381-7,400 of 11,299 for speaker:Colm Burke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: The ICGP report published in October referred to the Scottish system in relation to medical students. We do not have a system here in Ireland where medical students work within GP practice for a period. They attend clinics in hospitals but I understand they are not in GP practices while they are going to college. Am I correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: Has the college engaged with the universities?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: Does it believe it would be of assistance in trying to get more of those graduating into the GP system?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: If that were put in place and an agreement reached on it, then the question would be the number of GP practices that would be prepared to come on board to facilitate that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: Would that be a challenge?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: In the past six years in Ireland, the number of people working in the hospital system has increased from 103,000 to more than 137,000 whole-time equivalents. That is an increase of over 33%. That has been achieved in a six-year time period. Can we reach the targets the ICGP is talking about on the basis it gets support from the Department of Health and the HSE right across the board?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: That was my argument because, in real terms, we would be producing more doctors. If I borrow €100,000 to set up a business in the morning, I can write that €100,000 off against tax, but if I borrow €100,000 to go to college and I am providing a service when I qualify, and it is an essential service, I cannot write it off against tax.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: Another problem for those students is that all the financial institutions are refusing to provide loans for those students, as I understand it. There is now a difficulty in their getting loans.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: The ICGP has not had any engagement with the banks on this issue at this stage?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: But it believes it is something that needs to be dealt with.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: Looking what has happened in recent years, and given the number coming out next year is 285, what percentage of those who qualify is likely to go to another jurisdiction to work for a period of time? Is that a particular challenge at the moment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: My final point is on the whole issue of the task force. One of the problems I have when committees or task forces are set up is the timescale involved. Has the ICGP talked to the Department about setting out a clear timescale as to when the task force will deliver and set out a clear plan for dealing with the challenges we have?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: I return to the issue of postgraduates who go to college and have to pay full fees because they already have a university degree. I have had this argument with the Department of Finance over the past three to four years about how they cannot write that loan off against tax once they qualify. Has ICGP had any engagement with the Department of Finance on that? It is a challenge if someone is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Recruitment, Retention and Manpower Planning Issues: Irish College of General Practitioners (14 Dec 2022)

Colm Burke: Will it be possible to go back and see what progress has been made by the Department and the task force?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for attending and dealing with the queries raised. I thank all staff who worked over Christmas and work week in and week out. It is important to acknowledge staff are in hospitals every weekend, whether consultants, junior doctors or nursing staff. An impression is given that sometimes healthcare is only provided from Monday to Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: But that is recently. Why was the engagement not prior to Christmas? Why was it not in early December or in November?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: I was speaking to them myself.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: No. The survey is quite clear. The survey from Nursing Homes Ireland of 147 nursing homes has said they had 740 beds vacant and they were prepared to take people. Another 63 nursing homes had 117 beds vacant and they were not prepared to take people because they did not have staffing. The survey is quite clear that 740 beds were vacant.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: I will move on now to the transitional care, which was raised earlier. I am not satisfied this is being used effectively. For instance, I have seen situations where a person is discharged out to a nursing home for two weeks and then the support is immediately cut after the two weeks. I know a number of families who had to transfer their elderly parent to another nursing home because the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: But there is great variation across the country with regard to the use of transitional care beds. There is a huge variation.