Only 50% of primary care teams in place by year end

THE number of primary care teams (PCTs) in the Health Service Executive (HSE) South is less than half the figure required to support the reconfiguration of hospital services, according to a leaked report.

A Review of Acute Services in the HSE South estimates 139 PCTs are needed, but according to the HSE, 63 will be operational by the end of 2009. These 63 teams were in development between 2006 and 2007, but just 34 have had their first clinical team meeting, according to a HSE performance report.

Teams are not defined as “operational” until they have held a clinical team meeting. A HSE statement said all 63 teams will be operational by the end of 2009 and an additional 16 teams will be “in development”. The teams – GPs, public health nurses, home helps, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers and administrative personnel – are the cornerstone of health care delivery in the community and essential to the HSE’s transformation programme.