Vol. 554 No. 5
1032 Mr. McHugh asked the Minister for Health and Children if he has received a proposal from the Western Health Board for the provision of a primary care unit on Western Health Board lands in Tuam, County Galway; the estimated cost of same; the facilities proposed to be provided therein; if he will make resources available to allow the project to proceed; when resources may be made available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15987/02]
Earlier this year I established within my Department the primary care task force, whose remit is to drive forward the implementation of the primary care strategy, Primary Care – A New Direction. One of the objectives set out in this strategy is the establishment of implementation projects, which will involve putting in place, in a number of locations around the country, the team-based primary care model described in the strategy. Proposals in this regard were invited from each health board and one of the proposals from the Western Health Board involved the establishment of a primary care team in Tuam. The costings submitted indicated that the annual revenue costs were estimated by the health board at €1.2 million, while the proposed capital development was costed at approximately €5.7 million. The proposal was for the delivery of primary care services by a multi-disciplinary team and network in the manner described in the strategy.
The level of resources available in the current year for the implementation of the primary care strategy would not allow this capital project to be funded at present. The matter will be kept under consideration in the light of available resources and the primary care development priorities identified by the Western Health Board.
