Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)

I wish to raise with the Minister for Health and Children the concerns of the local community at the level of general practitioner services in Shercock, County Cavan.

My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Brendan Smith, and I received representations from Councillor Francis McDermott and the local community on the decrease in the level of general practitioner services in the town of Shercock, County Cavan. At present, the GP hours of service in Shercock are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. I understand from Councillor McDermott that a letter dated 13 March 2005 was circulated to the people of Shercock informing them that, as and from 9 May 2005, there will only be a Monday afternoon clinic from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and a Friday clinic from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and that there will be no clinic on Wednesday from then on. This was the first the local community heard of this change, which came like a bolt out of the blue. The letter also explained that patients from the Shercock area could be seen in the clinic in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, at all other times.

I understand that a very well attended public meeting organised by the community council took place last night in Shercock, and the community voiced its concerns about the reduction in GP services. To date, more than 900 people have signed a petition calling on the GP hours to be retained and, indeed, increased. Councillor McDermott also received letters from factories in the area, one of which employs more than 400 people. They are very unhappy for health and safety reasons that the clinic times are being reduced further.

The GP group practice located at Cloughvalley, Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, appears to be neglecting the people of Shercock and the surrounding area, which is not acceptable. Last Thursday, my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Brendan Smith, organised a meeting which I attended with Councillor McDermott in the Health Service Executive, North-East Area, offices in Navan. We met with Ms Anne-Marie Hoey, director of primary care services, who was very helpful. As a result of the meeting, I received a letter yesterday from Ms Hoey stating that the executive is currently exploring a number of options that will ensure the provision of a satisfactory GP service in the locality and that she hopes to reach a satisfactory solution.

It is not acceptable that the people of the town of Shercock, with a population in the greater Shercock area of more than 1,000, will be without GP services for the bulk of the week. I urge the Minister of State to have the current times retained and, if possible, to have the times of the clinics increased because the people of Shercock deserve a general practitioner service.