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General Practitioner Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 July 2016

Tuesday, 12 July 2016

Ceisteanna (27, 82, 552)

Bríd Smith

Ceist:

27. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the actions he is taking to progress the development, staff levels and contracts of general practitioners including the provision of care free at the point of use to persons under 12 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20909/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Gino Kenny

Ceist:

82. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the action he is taking to progress the development and staff levels and contracts of general practitioners, including the provision of care free at the point of use to children under 12 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20943/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Jack Chambers

Ceist:

552. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Health the way he plans to deal with the increased waiting times at general practitioner clinics; his further plans to extend free general practitioner care with the current difficulties in meeting existing demand in general practitioner clinics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20453/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 82 and 552 together.

There have been significant developments in the general practice service recently, with more services being made available to our citizens and additional support provided by the HSE. Under a Framework Agreement, signed in 2014, the HSE, Department of Health and IMO are currently engaged in a comprehensive review of the GMS and other publicly funded health sector contracts involving GPs. A number of service developments have already arisen out of this process including the implementation in 2015 of a universal GP service for all children under 6 years and all persons aged 70 years and over. In addition, a cycle of care for asthma for children under 6 years, and a cycle of care for diabetes for medical card and GP cardholders were also introduced last year. More recent developments in 2016 were the enhanced support framework for general practices services in rural areas and the revised list of special items of service that can be provided by GPs.

In Budget 2016, the Government has also provided for the extension of GP care without fees to all children aged under 12 years in the latter part of 2016. This extension is subject to negotiation and will be implemented in the context of a new GP contract. In addition, the Programme for Partnership Government, commits to the introduction of free GP care for all under-18s, subject to negotiations with GPs and noting the need for additional GPs to support the additional workload.

I have recently met with GP representative bodies to discuss the future development of general practice and I have assured them of the Government's commitment to developing primary healthcare services for all our citizens and the key role of general practice in that context. In order to ensure that the potential benefits of an enhanced integrated primary healthcare sector can be realised and supported by a new contract for general practice services, I am currently considering a number of options around this process, including the possibility of broader consultations with stakeholders.

The Programme for Partnership Government emphasises the need to focus on enhancing primary healthcare services including building up GP capacity, increasing the number of therapists and other health professionals in primary care. The number of GP contract holders has been increasing incrementally in recent years, from 2,258 at the end of 2010 to 2,469 at the end of May 2016. The annual GP training intake has also increased from 120 prior to 2010 to 158 in 2015. In 2016, this will increase to 172 and it is envisaged that the intake number will increase further in 2017 and 2018.

In relation to the issue of waiting times for an appointment to see a GP, I would like to point out that GPs do not currently provide information to the HSE in relation to patient visit activity, waiting times etc. In the absence of such general practice activity data, it is not possible to provide further information to the Deputy as to whether a problem exists and, if it does, the extent of any such problem.

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