Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 126: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the plans she has to improve the diagnostic services available to general practitioners. [29595/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The HSE has informed me that in November 2005, a sub-committee of the Executive's National Primary and Community Care Reform Working Group was established to review the current status of GP access to diagnostics; to explore current and potential capacity; and make short, medium and long-term recommendations.

I am advised that work is being undertaken at present to progress two specific initiatives:

The development of a service to facilitate the transportation of diagnostic specimens from GP surgeries to laboratories.

The key objective of this initiative is to increase the current national provision of such a service from 36% of the population to 60% in 2006. Implementing this initiative requires the examination of both existing and development capacity of transportation and laboratory services, together with the development of joint protocols to encompass delivery of the service. The HSE has indicated that this work is in progress.

The development of a radiology/ ultrasound initiative.

The key objective of this initiative is to reduce waiting times for GP referrals nationally to a maximum of four weeks for plain film X-rays and eight weeks for ultrasound tests. In order to meet this objective there are a number of complex factors to be considered relating to the capacity of the current services; the use of both public and private providers; infrastructure; hours of service and engagement arrangements.

The HSE has established a Governance Group to oversee the implementation of these specific initiatives. In addition, the Group will also be progressing other medium and longer-term recommendations in relation to referral guidelines; as well as developing diagnostic capacity at primary and community service level in order to reduce the reliance on the acute sector and to enhance clients' experiences of diagnostic services and their outcomes.

Improving direct access for GPs to diagnostic services is also one of the actions in the Ten Point Plan to improve Accident and Emergency Services. Arrangements have been put in place with private providers for the commissioning of Computerised Tomography scans and Magnetic Resonance Imaging to facilitate direct access for GPs. To date, more than 1,500 CT scans and 100 MRI scans have been carried out under this initiative.