State fails to deliver on primary care strategy

Catherine Shanahan

Under the strategy, launched over three years ago, patients should be benefiting from multi-disciplinary healthcare teams.

This would reduce A&E attendances and pressure on hospital beds. The strategy is stuck at pilot phase with just 10 teams in place.

At this rate, it will not reach its target of between 400 and 600 core teams as required for two-thirds implementation of the strategy by 2011.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) says the Government has failed to provide adequate funding and restricted staff recruitment.

Just E25.5 million has been allocated with E5m more earmarked for 2005 despite the strategy proposing to have invested E1.27 billion by 2011. A ban on the recruitment of public sector staff has also created difficulties.

IMO president Dr James Reilly said at the current rate it would be "70 to 100 years" before patients benefited from the system.

Dr Niall Ó Cléirigh, spokesperson for the Irish College of General Practitioners, said allocated funding was "abysmal".

"To say we are disappointed is an understatement, especially in light of repeated statements from the Government recognising that primary care is a central part of the health service," he said.

Dr Reilly said GPs were reluctant to invest them selves after the problems setting up the pilot models.

Dr Kieran Murphy, a GP member of the West County Limerick pilot team, described the strategy as "cloud cuckoo-land stuff".`

"The timescale of the original plan was overly optimistic. It was much more complex on the ground than anyone envisaged.

However, he said the model of care proposed in the strategy was "definitely the way forward".

Dr Ivan Perry, chair of the Government group set up to oversee the pilots, said implementing Hanly (the Government's ambitious health reform plan) "will be compromised by failure to implement the primary care strategy it is only viable if done in parallel". He warned it was "over-simplistic" to blame the slow progress rate on funding that the new healthcare model involved a "profound change in culture" and obstacles such as industrial relations issues.

He said Health Minister Mary Harney was reacting "to the urgent (A&E) rather than the important (primary care)".