Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will increase the number of vehicles allocated to the D-Doc services his views on the fact that currently there is only one vehicle allocated to cover the whole of the north side of Dublin during the week and two vehicles available at the weekends; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50617/12]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Out-of-hours co-operatives allow general practitioners (GPs) to put in place arrangements to provide services to their patients while their surgeries are closed in the evenings, on weekends and bank holidays. t-of-hours co-operatives are now in place in all Health Service Executive (HSE) areas, providing coverage in all or in part of all counties. Drivers are employed by co-operatives to drive GPs when making house calls. The driver provision addresses issues of security and location knowledge for GPs. In many cases, the cost of providing drivers and vehicles for GP out-of-hours co-operatives is covered by the HSE.

In March 2010, the HSE published the National Review of GP t-of-Hours Services. The review was carried out with a view to examining the existing models of GP out-of-hours service to identify best practice and make recommendations for the future development of standardised GP out-of-hours services, consistent with national policy and the HSE Transformation Programme. The recommendations of the review are being implemented by the HSE on an ongoing basis.

The Review recognised that each HSE region should review the delivery of services by drivers with a view to providing services in a more cost effective manner, particularly with regard to the ‘red‐ eye’ shift. At the time of the review, the overall cost of providing drivers to the co-operatives amounted to €11.5 million, which at that time represented 10.7% of the overall national cost of providing GP out-of-hours services.

In relation to the specific query raised by the Deputy about the need to increase the number of vehicles allocated to the D-Doc out-of-hours service, the HSE has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.