SouthDoc plans to cut services by 50%

PLANS by a doctors’ out-of-hours scheme to cut patient treatment services by as much as 50% in parts of Cork and Kerry to deal with a funding crisis have been condemned by the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO).

The nurses’ union said SouthDoc management told them it planned to cut nursing services in treatment centres in Killarney and Tralee in Co Kerry and eliminate such services in the Clonakilty centre in Co Cork.

INO industrial relations officer Michael Dineen said a funding shortfall of about €600,000 was being blamed. “The proposed cuts are extremely short-sighted and have the capacity to impact significantly on members of the public,” he said.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) said SouthDoc got €9.4m last year and pointed out that it included a once-off payment of €400,000 to upgrade computer and IT systems.

The HSE said the agreed budget for this year was €8.99m and that the funding allocation allowed for a continuation of the level of those services provided in 2007 and in previous years.

SouthDoc said it would not be commenting on the INO’s claims.

Mr Dineen said the service had taken 182,000 calls in 2007 and was to achieve the same target this year.

“This is an emergency service. It is the first port of call for people when they require a doctor out of hours,” said Mr Dineen.

The INO offered to work with SouthDoc, a private company, to identify the appropriate areas where cuts could be made.

“The focus should not just be on the bottom line. The company needs to reflect on the impact the cuts will have on patients,” said Mr Dineen.

He also claimed that nurses in Clonakilty had successfully dealt with medical emergencies when doctors were unavailable because they were responding to other calls at the time.

Mr Dineen said the cutbacks needed to be evaluated from a clinical perspective and claimed doctors were worried that they had not been fully briefed about them.

“The review of the services that has taken place has been done primarily on a value-for-money basis without looking at the quality and quantum of the service that is currently being provided versus that which will be provided if these cuts are implemented,” he said.

The INO has urged SouthDoc management to have the proposals independently reviewed from a clinical perspective to establish if they are safe.

The company is proposing to remove services from an area such as Clonakilty, where the nearest accident and emergency department is nearly 50km away, he said.

Doctors attending SouthDoc’s annual general meeting in Cork last year said the service needed to be changed back to an emergency out-of-hours service, as patients are increasingly using it for routine GP care.

* SouthDoc: 1850 335 999