Seanad debates

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

Health (Provision of General Practitioner Services) Bill 2011: Second Stage

 

12:00 pm

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister to the House and I welcome the publication of the Bill, which I support. I fully support the Bill and I hope we will see its speedy passage through this House and through the Dáil. I will desist from raising local health issues but I call on the Minister and the Leader to arrange for the Minister to come back to the House to discuss the national health service plan. There was a debate on it in the Dáil. We will see the publication of regional plans and local hospital plans in the coming weeks as well. This serves as a good opportunity for the Minister to come back to the House to discuss these issues as well as the whole area of primary health care.

I am very much in favour of primary health care. There are many examples, such as that in Cork outlined by the previous speaker. However, there are many examples of private world-class primary health care centres. There are several in Waterford city and county in which there is an integration of GPs, physiotherapists, dietitians and weight management professionals. There are pharmacies on site and minor medical procedures are carried out. A network of world-class primary health care centres can take the pressure off our acute services. They also specialise in preventive medicine. There is a need for a reorientation of funding in respect of how we support, see and value primary health care. I hope the Minister can return to the House at some point to discuss the issue.

A previous Senator raised the issue of medical cards because we are discussing the GMS system. During a previous visit to the House the Minister stated that there was a short turnaround time for people applying for and receiving a medical card. However, our experience is to the contrary. I will not go back over the points as they have been well made by a previous Senator. However, I hope the Minister will examine the matter because, unfortunately, this is causing a major problem for people throughout the country. We are all keen to ensure that people get the medical card as quickly as possible to avoid any confusion.

There is no question but that this Bill must be put in place. While several Senators have referred to the troika's motivation, it differs from mine. It has referred to increased competition and restrictions to trade. My concern is the provision of and access to proper health care rather than a monetary concern, although economics are also important.

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