Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
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465. To ask the Minister for Health her plans to introduce a dedicated daytime GP home visit service in the Dublin 12 area, in view of concerns raised by persons regarding the lack of access to such services for elderly and vulnerable individuals during regular daytime hours; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52893/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Irish model of general practice is based on private practice, GPs providing GP services in Ireland currently are private practitioners. The HSE does not directly employ GPs for the provision of GP services.

Most GPs hold a GMS contract with the HSE to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. All persons aged 70 and over are eligible for a GP visit card.

Under the GMS contract, GPs must be available to provide services in their practice premises or by way of domiciliary visits, as appropriate, for their medical card and GP visit card patients. They must also make arrangements to enable contact to be made with them, or a locum/deputy, for urgent cases outside of these hours. It is a matter for the GP to decide whether it is appropriate to see the patient in his/her surgery or in the patient's home based on clinical need.

There is currently no plan to introduce a dedicated daytime GP home visit service. Introduction of such a service would require careful consideration regarding of, amongst other things, who would be eligible for the service, the model of service to be provided, as well as its impact on local GP capacity and service delivery under current GMS scheme.

It is worth noting that the Government have undertaken measures to increase the number of GPs practising across the country and to thereby improve access to GP services. These measures include significant additional investment in general practice under the 2019 and 2023 GP GMS Agreements, successive increases in new entrant GP training places, and the ongoing recruitment of GPs from abroad under the International Medical Graduate (IMG) Rural GP Programme.