Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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759. To ask the Minister for Health the progress made in improving access to primary care and enhanced community care since 27 June 2020; the additional funding provided in successive budgets; his plans for 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29609/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The development of primary care services – alongside social and community care more broadly – is central to this Government's determination to deliver a high-quality, integrated and cost-effective health care system.

In Budget 2022, the Minister secured recurring annual investment of €195m to enable the continued expansion of primary care services through the Enhanced Community Care (ECC) programme.

The ECC programme forms part of wider efforts to deliver on Sláintecare and the promise of care being delivered in the right place at the right time and as close to home as possible. The ECC programme includes a number of different elements that enhance primary care services across the country. Amongst other initiatives, the funding has allowed for the full roll-out of 96 Community Healthcare Networks (CHNs) and enables the continued development of 30 Community Specialist Teams for Older Persons, and 30 Community Specialist Teams for the Management of Chronic Diseases.

All 96 CHNs are now operational, servicing local populations of 50,000 people per network, and supporting GP’s in providing integrated care. 27 Community Specialist Teams for Older Persons are operational, working in an integrated way with acute services to support older patients.

26 Community Specialist teams for Chronic Disease management are operational and are working in an integrated way with acute services, supporting patients across areas of diabetes, respiratory and cardiology, and full nationwide coverage by the Community Intervention Teams has been achieved with 21 now operational across the country.

The ECC programme represents a significant expansion in primary care capacity, and will see some 3,500 additional staff recruited overall, with a particular focus on nursing and health and social care professionals. Over 2800 staff have been onboarded or are at an advanced stage of recruitment, which represents 81% of the full recruitment target.

Since January 2021, GP’s now have increased direct access to MRI, DEXA and CT scans and X-ray via the GP Access to Community Diagnostics initiative. This structured pathway for GPs to directly access diagnostic tests enables a greater level of care to be delivered in the community, supporting patient-centred care, early diagnosis, and early intervention.

We also continue to develop new, state of the art Primary Care Centres (PCCs) to support the provision of the very highest standards of primary care. Primary Care Centres are modern, purpose-designed buildings that provide a single location for a primary care team to work from. They have a key role in delivering a reformed health service. As of end-March 2024 there were 174 Primary Care Centres operational nationally. In total, 45 Primary Care Centres have become operational since end-June 2020. There are a further 10 currently in construction.

These investments and reforms are a demonstration of the commitment to shift the model of healthcare towards a more comprehensive and accessible primary care service in order to deliver better care closer to people’s home in communities across the country.