GPs pull out of primary care teams

MORE THAN 100 GPs in the northeast have withdrawn from primary care teams in the region following concerns including delays in processing medical card applications.

The GPs have written to Minister of State for Primary Care Róisín Shortall to inform her they have “completely disassociated from any of the primary care teams” with immediate effect.

The withdrawal of co-operation will not affect GP services to patients, but will effectively mean the primary care teams in the region, which meet to discuss and co-operate on patient care and services, will cease to function, the doctors have said.

Primary care teams were launched as part of the National Primary Care Strategy in 2001.

The teams include health professionals such as family doctors, midwives, social workers, public health nurses and physiotherapists.

The aim was that care would be provided to patients in the community from under one roof and at the time, 600 teams were envisaged by the end of 2011; so far 411 teams have been set up. The majority of these are “virtual teams”, having no dedicated building from which to operate.

In the northeast, 24 teams are operating, according to HSE figures, and a further 15 are in place without GP members. There are four dedicated buildings for the teams, two more are due to open later this year and four are in development.

The remaining teams, which do not work out of the same premises, meet on a regular basis to discuss patient care.

In a letter sent to Ms Shortall yesterday, the northeast GPs said they no longer wished to be included in HSE statistics as being functioning members of primary care teams nor did they intend to play “any part in their activities”.

The doctors said they were withdrawing because they believed there was an “ongoing and persistent effort” by the HSE’s Primary Care Reimbursement Service, which processes medical card applications, to “slow down”processing. This resulted in many patients losing their entitlements for several months.

“This places untold hardship on vulnerable people throughout Ireland,” the GPs said.

Doctors’ entitlements to study leave, to take part in the compulsory Competence Assurance Scheme, were being “frustrated” by the reimbursement service, the doctors said, and they were also being “continually deprived of resources” as a result of a succession of fee reductions.

“We have also seen the disgraceful and shameful destruction of the quality out-of-hours services which we provided for our patients by HSE funding cuts,” they said.

“While reducing the funding of doctors, the same substantial HSE non-clinical infrastructure to support this much-reduced service has been left intact.”

The doctors also wished to protest at “additional costly and time-consuming administrative work” associated with the childhood vaccination scheme.

“We hope that in the future, when there is some real and genuine recognition and respect by both HSE and Government for us as individual professionals and of the vital role which we play in the health service that we can play a constructive role in planning the future care of our patients,” the doctors said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said there was no delay in processing medical cards. The centralised process for medical card applications and renewals meant in excess of 80 per cent of completed applications were processed within 15 working days.

“Delays occur where applications are incomplete,” she said.

An online application process had also been set up which gives applicants access to up-to-date information on the progress of their medical card renewal or application, she said.