Delay for primary care centres

A MAJOR HIKE in emergency department charges would be acceptable if the public had the one-stop-shops for healthcare promised by the Government in 2001, according to GP and Fine Gael health spokesman, Dr James Reilly.

It had been expected that up to 600 primary care teams would be in place by 2011 and would include GPs, nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants, home helps, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers and administrative personnel, all under one roof.

A small number of centres have opened in recent years in places such as Ballymun and Arklow and more are under construction but the progress has been much slower than envisaged by then Minister for Health Micheál Martin when he announced the plans seven years ago.

Money, of course, has been the main stumbling point, with the total project costing more than €1.5 billion.

Now the Government has gone down the private enterprise route. It has sought expressions of interest from developers to provide over 131 centres and claims it has received more than 450 proposals.

Last week's Budget has promised an "innovative new programme of financing" to bring forward 200 primary care centres by 2011. It aims to have the first 50 open by the end of 2010 and the rest open in the following year.

But the news has not been greeted with delight from patients' groups.

"I'll believe it when I see it," says Janette Byrne of Patients Together. "Look how long we are waiting. It's like a broken record. People just have a complete lack of confidence in anything that the Government is doing."

Fears have been expressed that the privately funded centres will lead to the "corporatisation" of general practice.

Reilly says it is another step on the road of privatising the health service.

"Everything this Government does is about big bankers and builders. It's not about medical card holders, primary care or the elderly."