Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 April 2017
566. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the number of general practitioners that are receiving HSE payments for employing practice nurses to carry out antenatal care, including routine checks. [17968/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the GMS scheme, subsidies are payable to GPs towards the cost of employing support staff, including practice nurses.
Practice nurses carry out a wide range of patient care under the direction of the GP. Services provided may include, for example: vaccinations; women’s health services; antenatal and postnatal care; skin and wound care; health promotion and lifestyle advice; general nursing duties; practice administrative and policy work; specialist services in a particular disease area such as diabetes or cardiology.
The HSE can provide information on the number of GPs receiving subsidies towards the employment of practice nurses, therefore I have arranged for the question to be transferred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy. However, these subsidies are not specific to particular services being provided by practice nurses and the HSE would not hold information on the number of these GPs who employ a practice nurse for the purpose of carrying out antenatal care.
