Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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292. To ask the Minister for Health the number of primary care centres which are fully staffed and operational; the extent to which evidence exists of the alleviation of overcrowding in hospital accident and emergency departments as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4918/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for a Partnership Government commits to a decisive shift towards primary care so that better care close to home can be provided for communities around the country.

The development of Primary Care Centres to accommodate Primary Care Teams and, where possible, GPs in the one location is a key enabler for the delivery of primary care services. Primary Care Centres facilitate the shift from acute care towards primary care because of the range of multi-disciplinary services they can provide and the role they can play in keeping people who do not need to be in an acute setting out of hospital.

As the provision of Primary Care Centres and related staffing and service matters are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive (HSE), I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.