Carol Nolan presses government on rural GP crisis in Leash, Offaly
Carol Nolan urged urgent action on rural GP access, highlighting severe shortages in Leash and Offaly and asking the government to convene an urgent stakeholder forum. She cited a report showing 100% of GPs in Leash cannot take additional patients while in Offaly only 20% can, and pressed the government to honour programme for government commitments.
Rural GP shortages raised
Nolan described a chronic shortage of GPs in Leash and Offaly and said she was contacted by an upset parent who could not get access to a GP for her daughter who was home from college. She said the issue has been raised before in the chamber but that no action has followed.
Local statistics cited
She cited a report showing that 100% of GPs in Leash cannot take on additional patients, while in Offaly only 20% of GPs can take additional patients. Nolan used these figures to underline the immediacy of the access problem in rural communities.
Request for urgent stakeholder forum
Nolan asked whether the government will convene an urgent stakeholder forum to address the crisis and what other actions it will take to ensure the programme for government commitments on rural GP sustainability are met.
Government response on GP workforce pressure
The government acknowledged that GPs across the country are under pressure due to a rising and ageing population and strong demand for health care. The response emphasised that GPs are working hard and facing significant workloads.
Training and recruitment update
The government stated that the number of GPs in Ireland is increasing, with more GPs holding GMS contracts and more on the Medical Council Specialist Register than ever before. It also said GP training places are being increased annually and noted a record number of young doctors applied to GP training schemes this year, which was presented as a positive sign for future recruitment.
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The programme for government states that this government will focus on guaranteeing the sustainability of rural GP practices. I know that there is a chronic shortage of GPs in Leash Offaly and indeed I was contacted at the weekend by a very upset parent who could not get access to a GP for her daughter who was home from college. We need urgent attention on this. A report showed that 100% of GPs in Leash cannot take on additional patients while in Offaly only 20% of GPs can take on additional patients. This is an issue that I have raised in this chamber before but we've seen no action. Will your government convene an urgent stakeholder forum to address this crisis and what other actions will this government take to ensure that they are standing by the commitments in the programme for government and ensuring that there is access to rural GPs? The programme for government, if you're interested in this. Very much, Deputy. Our GPs across the country are working really hard and they're under a lot of pressure. And that's, I think, a consequence of a rising population and also an ageing population that there is so much demand for health care. But they are under pressure and they are working really hard and they're doing a great job, in my view. I think it is important to put on the record of the House that notwithstanding what you might think from the newspapers or the media, we actually now have more GPs in Ireland than ever before. More GPs who've got a GMS contract with HSC than ever before. More GPs on the Medical Council Specialist Register than ever before. So the number of GPs in Ireland is going up, not down. What are we going to do about it to make sure that continues? We're increasing the number of GPs we're training every year. And the number of training places is now being increased every year. And I'm really pleased to see that the number of young doctors applying to get on a GP training scheme was at its highest ever level this year. And demonstrates to me the fact that confidence in medicine and general practice as a career is being restored. More young doctors applied to get on the GP training scheme than any year in the history of the state. And that's a really good sign. Thank you.
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