Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
1798. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if his Department is continuing to correspond with general practitioners on the proposed cuts which were postponed earlier in 2022 (details supplied); if he will provide an update on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43094/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraGP out of hours co-operatives are private organisations. The HSE provides significant funding to co-operatives through service level agreements to support the provision of out of hour GP services. The HSE has confirmed that there has been no change to the funding arrangement for the out of hours service referred to by the Deputy for 2022.
The service in question recently informed the HSE of its intention to reconfigure its GP out-of-hours service with effect from August 2022, with no availability of late night in-person GP consultations. Following recent discussions and correspondence between the HSE and the board of GP cooperative concerned in relation to its proposal, it has been agreed that any proposed changes that were suggested have now been put back to January 2023 to facilitate an examination of the out of hours operation.
