Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am aware that there are difficulties in filling some medical positions in rural locations, encompassing hospital and some GP posts.

In July 2013, the Minister for Health established a Working Group to make high-level recommendations relating to training and career pathways for doctors. The Group noted current challenges in respect of staffing of particular consultant-level posts and the onerous out-of-hours commitment and demanding rotas in some smaller hospitals. The Group considered that the reconfiguration of services in the context of the Hospital Groups provided an opportunity to address this issue. The establishment of Hospital Groups is a key enabler for reorganisation of services across hospitals. Significant progress has been made in the implementation of Hospital Groups, with more co-ordinated approaches to the planning and delivery of services across all the hospitals within a Group. Hospitals are now working together to support each other, providing a stronger role for smaller hospitals in delivering less complex care and ensuring that patients who require true emergency or complex planned care are managed safely in larger hospitals. The potential for improved workforce organisation, as part of addressing the staffing challenges in some hospitals, is a key aspect of the continued development of Hospital Groups.

The Government is committed to the continued development of GP capacity to ensure that patients across the country continue to have access to GP services, especially in remote rural areas and also in disadvantaged urban areas, and that general practice is sustainable in all areas into the future. I want to ensure that existing GP services are retained and that general practice remains an attractive career option for newly qualified GPs. Several efforts to increase the number of practising GPs have been undertaken in recent years. These include increases in the number of GP training places, which have risen from 120 places in 2009 to 171 places being formally accepted for the 2017 training intake as of 13 June, representing an increase of 43% in the last 8 years. Changes have been made to the entry provisions to the GMS scheme to facilitate more flexible/shared GMS contracts, and to the retirement provisions for GPs under the GMS scheme.

An enhanced supports package for rural GP practices was also introduced in May 2016. The new Rural Practice Support Framework includes improved qualifying criteria for rural support and an increase in the financial allowance from €16,216 to €20,000 per annum. Over 300 GPs now benefit from rural practice supports under this Framework. This is a significant increase on the 167 GPs who received the Rural Practice Allowance prior to the introduction of the new Framework last year. In addition, the GP contracts review process which is currently underway will seek to arrive at contractual arrangements which will ensure that general practice is an attractive, fulfilling and rewarding career option into the future.