Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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220. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which out-of-hour services, particularly at weekends, remain available or need to be augmented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43436/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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General Practitioners contracted under the General Medical Services Scheme must make suitable arrangements to enable contact to be made with them (or a locum/deputy) for emergencies outside normal practice hours. While there is no obligation on GPs to participate in (GP) out-of-hours co-operatives as a means of meeting the contractual requirement, such services have been developed and expanded over time such that they are now an essential part of our primary care services and help to ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, urgent care needs are met in the primary care setting.

Out-of-hours co-operatives provide urgent GP services to patients of participating practices outside normal surgery hours, i.e. between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. Monday to Friday and for the 24-hour period on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. GP out-of-hours services are delivered through 14 GP co-operatives nationally and five extended hours co-operatives in Dublin. 2,068 GPs (85% of GMS contract holders nationally) participate in out-of-hours co-operatives, along with 204 non-GMS GPs.

The following range of services is provided, entirely or partially, by the GP co-operatives: Call centre; Telephone Triage; GP consultation at treatment centre or home visit.

Currently, services are provided nationally in the following settings: 7 call centres and 1 satellite call centre; 82 treatment centres, including extended hours services; 13 peripheral centres.

Since 2008, GP out-of-hours services have been extended in the following areas: Roscommon; Limerick City; Tullamore; Moate; Edenderry; Tallaght; Lucan; and Clondalkin

Plans are at an advanced stage to extend services in Sligo, North Leitrim and West Cavan in the coming weeks.

The HSE has commenced a review of existing GP out-of-hours services with a view to maximising efficiencies and to identify areas which would benefit from extension, within existing resources, of GP out-of-hours services.