Shannondoc makes a profit

THE COMPANY that provides an out-of-hours doctor’s service in the midwest serving 275,000 people last year returned to profit.

According to accounts filed with the Companies Office by Shannondoc Ltd, the company last year recorded a slight profit of €5,800 after sustaining a loss of €40,715 in 2006.

The general manager of Shannondoc Ltd, Larry Maher, said the company was very satisfied with its 2007 performance, but warned after holding preliminary meetings with the Health Service Executive (HSE) on funding for 2009 “the situation will be very, very tight next year”.

Shannondoc provides primary medical cover for GPs during out-of-surgery hours for the midwest excluding the Limerick city area and the accounts show that last year, the service dealt with 90,919 calls.

This represented an increase of 3.6 per cent on calls in 2006 – the highest increase being in Ennis where a 9 per cent increase was recorded.

AE services at Ennis and Nenagh General Hospitals may be reorganised in 2009 with a soon-to-be published consultants’ report expected to recommend their downgrading.

However, Mr Maher warned that any reorganisation to AE services must lead to the reconfiguration of other services within the HSE.

He said: “Shannondoc forms part of the continuum in healthcare in the midwest and you can’t change something and not reconfigure other services. You can’t rely on Shannondoc to provide AE care. We are not an emergency service.”

The accounts show that Shannondoc’s turnover last year increased by 13 per cent from €5.08 million to €5.76 million while its administrative expenses increased by 12 per cent to €5.8 million.

The service is principally funded from HSE contributions and last year the allocation increased by 14 per cent to €4.375 million.

The service’s board of directors is made up of GPs from the region and the accounts show that the chairman, Dr Michael Tangney, last year received an allowance of €15,000.

The accounts show that contributions to the service from the area’s GPs last year totalled €929,000 – down 11 per cent on the €1.04 million received in 2006.

The accounts also show that the service received €240,656 arising from a contract the company secured to provide a transport service for routine diagnostic samples from GPs’ surgeries to HSE laboratories. Shannondoc states that the service “makes efficient use of existing company resources”.

The accounts show that the service employed 133 people last year with staff costs increasing by 17 per cent to €3.555 million. The returns show that the breakdown of staff is 51 medical personnel, 43 drivers and 39 in administration.

The accounts show that the company now has a €106,111 total in its profit and loss account and cash at bank and in hand of €1.1 million. A breakdown of the calls show that only 6.3 per cent were referred on to AE with 86 per cent of the calls not requiring any follow-up.

Only in 1.1 per cent of the calls was there a requirement to call an ambulance, while the statistics show that 34 per cent or 31,346 of the calls related to under-14s with 66 per cent of those calls for under-fives.