Written Answers. - IMO-IGCP Document.
Eamon Gilmore
Ceist:
48
Mr. Gilmore
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
if he has received the IMO-IGCP document, Priorities 2000-2005 - A Vision of General Practice; his response to the document; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[5956/01]
Dinny McGinley
Ceist:
58
Mr. McGinley
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
if he will make a statement setting out his views on the joint IMO-ICGP statement, Priorities 2000-2005 - A Vision of General Practice.
[5518/01]
John V. Farrelly
Ceist:
61
Mr. Farrelly
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
his plan for investment in general practitioner services and primary care generally.
[5510/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 48, 58 and 61 together.
General practice is a central part of health care provision in this country and one to which I attach considerable importance. It is a sector of our health services whose potential I am determined to develop fully in conjunction and consultation with the relevant stakeholders in the area. That process of development will be rational and structured and be consistent with the overall objective of building an integrated healthcare service.
I should begin by pointing out that in recent years, the State has become much more involved in developing general practice through direct investment and tangible practice support. Indeed, while there has been some very worthwhile investment by general practitioners themselves much of the progress made is due principally to State support. My Department and the health boards now provide assistance to general practitioners to develop their services, infrastructure and premises through the provision of a range of capital and developmental funding mechanisms.
On the capital side, allocations to health boards are on the basis of submissions made by the boards' primary care units which reflect the priority projects in their areas and are consistent with strategy documents outlining the development of general practice, including the provision of integrated care services. Some units favour assisting a large number of individual projects with relatively small grant aid while others favour supporting a small number of projects with more significant aid. Similarly, some projects may be wholly owned board projects, while others may be private projects by GPs and such GPs must be drugs savers, provide equity in the projects and give commitments to safeguard the State's investment.
Further funding, which may be used for capital or other purposes, is available under the voluntary indicative drug budgeting scheme, which is intended to encourage GMS scheme doctors to prescribe rationally, and thereby act, in part, as a control on drugs costs' escalation. Doctors making savings under the scheme are allowed to keep 100% of their savings for approved investment in their practices. Health boards may also provide practice support through moneys made available under the annual GP development fund together with the annual £1.2 million made available to them under the drugs budgeting scheme. In addition, there are a number of financial incentives available to participating doctors under the GMS scheme to recruit practice support staff, including practice nurses and secretaries.
It is acknowledged that while these initiatives have greatly improved the infrastructure of primary care there remains a need to further develop general practice to ensure it can play its fullest role in the strategic development of primary care and a broader more integrated healthcare service. It was in recognition of this that the health board chief executive officers, with input from the Department, decided to carry out a major examination of the nature and role of general practice. The purpose of the review was to systematically identify the measures necessary to meet the challenges posed if general practice was to be properly developed. The findings of the now completed review will serve as the basis for the future strategic development of general practice. Accordingly, I plan to seek the approval of the Government to move forward on the basis of the review and to commence a major process of consultation with the relevant representative bodies, in particular the ICGP and the IMO. Their joint vision statement will also clearly form part of the consultation process.
All of this is intended to ensure that progress takes place on an incremental but structured basis that has full regard to existing realities of general practice organisation, infrastructure, workload, etc. The outcome is aimed at a more complete and rationally developed general practice and primary care system, integrated with the overall health system, which meets patients' needs in a value for money framework.
