Written answers

Thursday, 27 June 2019

Department of Health

General Practitioner Data

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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188. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of directly employing one, ten and 50 general practitioners, respectively, inclusive of salary and PRSI costs. [27338/19]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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General Practitioners (GPs) are not employees of the HSE but are private practitioners contracted to provide services on behalf of the HSE, to people with Medical Cards, GP Visit Cards and various other schemes.

Under the General Medical Services (GMS) contract, GPs are reimbursed for a range of services they provide to medical card and GP visit card holders. GPs are remunerated for these services primarily on a capitation basis, with a range of additional support payments and fees for specific items of service.

As the HSE does not directly hire GPs and currently there is no approved salary scale in the public service for a GP post, it is not possible to quantify the financial implications for the HSE of additional GPs being hired to provide services to the public health system under the GMS and other schemes.

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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189. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost and breakdown of providing practice nurses to work with 50 general practitioners; and the estimated cost of their training and pay for work for a first and full-year period. [27339/19]

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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191. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost and breakdown of providing medical secretaries to work with 50 general practitioners including the cost of their training and pay for work for a first and full-year period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27341/19]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 189 and 191 together.

Under the GMS scheme, GPs are paid a subsidy towards the cost of employing a practice nurse and/or a practice secretary. Payment is made to participating doctors with a panel size of at least 100 patients and payment increases in bands of 100 with a maximum payment applicable at a panel size of 1,200. The subsidy rate applies to those staff employed on a full-time basis and for staff not employed on a full-time basis payment is made on a pro rata basis.

As the HSE does not fund practice nurse or practice secretary posts in full, the estimated costings provided below are based on the current level of subsidy payments and on the assumption that the GP has the maximum panel of 1,200 + patients.

The cost of the subsidy for 50 practice nurses would range between €1.55 million and €1.89 million and the cost of the subsidy for 50 practice secretaries would range between €1.03 million and €1.2 million depending on the experience of the nurse or secretary.

There is no provision under the terms of the current GMS contract to pay a subsidy for training practice nurses or practice secretaries, or to pay for locum cover in respect of any period of training.

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