Early access to primary medical care GP services is a fundamental basis for a good quality, safe and effective health service. GPs play a very important role in looking after patient care, ensuring early intervention and providing care in the community. I compliment the excellent service provided by GPs, practice nurses, therapy staff and administrative staff in GP practices right across the country. GP services are under severe pressure. Many GPs are overworked, burnt out and increasingly find it difficult to take annual leave. The service needs support and it needs reform. The Economic and Social Research Institute suggests that 1,200 new GPs will be required by 2040. The Irish College of General Practitioners put that figure much higher, at 2,000, due to an ageing population and population growth. The World Health Organization recommends a ratio of one GP to 1,000. The ratio in this country is almost double that, at 1:1,750. In some areas, as has already been said, it goes as high as 1:3,500. Rural areas and areas of deprivation are worst served. A third of the population of the country live in rural areas but only 10% of GPs work in those areas. A substantial number of GPs are now heading for retirement. There are something like 600 over 65, with half of those - 300- aged over 70. As a result of all that, as was recently shown in a report, it is difficult for new patients to be registered. Two thirds of practices in rural Ireland are not accepting new patients and, generally speaking, it is about half. I see that almost every day in my constituency office where people are coming in saying they cannot get registered with a GP. Increasingly also, patients are finding that it takes a week or more to get a consultation. The situation needs to be tackled. Anything up to 200 additional GP training places must be provided through an expansion of the current scheme in hospitals, training in GP surgeries and on GP training schemes. That will not solve the problem. In particular in rural and deprived areas we need GPs to be directly employed by the State through the Health Service Executive. That service should be rolled out initially in rural areas, where it is almost impossible to get replacement GPs. We have regularly seen in south Tipperary that when a single-handed GP retires, the vacancy is almost impossible to fill. In one case I recall it took over 18 months to fill a vacancy. The roll-out of that type of direct GP service must increasingly focus on areas that are underserved, such as deprived areas. Many GPs are now finding it difficult to take annual leave and that is something that needs to be tackled as well. A national locum panel should be established to address the situation. All health services should be provided free of charge at the point of use based on medical need. A two-tier system does not serve the public well. As a start to that process, free GP services, at least for all those under 18, should be introduced immediately by the Government.

Sentiment score: 0.07