Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
1975. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health if he will continue in 2022, the initiative announced in January 2021 to make available to general practitioners increased direct access to diagnostic services, such as X-Rays, CT scans, MRIs, and DEXA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36038/21]
View answerIn Budget 2021, a significant investment of €25m was allocated to implement an expanded programme of structured access to diagnostics services for GPs. The aim of this initiative is to address the situation whereby patients can be inappropriately referred to hospital Emergency or Outpatient Departments to access diagnostics, thus exacerbating ED overcrowding or necessitating excessive waiting times for patients to access the required scans.
The GP Access to Diagnostics programme was successfully launched in January of this year. As of the most recently available data from the HSE in early May, there had been a total of 22,051 scans of various modalities provided, with almost 70% of these being MRI scans. The very latest information on the scheme is unfortunately not available due to the ongoing effects of the recent cyber-attack on the HSE’s ICT systems. However, the number of scans and tests which have been provided at this date can expected to be significantly higher than the May figures, particularly as the service is currently available to the full population
My Department and the HSE will review this programme in context of the Estimates process for 2022, but it is clear that improved access to diagnostics in primary care settings is a crucial part of Sláintecare reform. I wish to assure the Deputy that I certainly anticipate that I will be in a position to support the continuation of this initiative, which has been widely welcomed by GPs and has already benefitted many thousands of individual patients.
