Lack of Garda clearance for locums

ONLY two of the countries nine GP co-operatives require Garda clearance for locums staffing their out-of- hours service, and seven areas of the country are without any out-of-hours service.

Dundalk, Limerick city, Sligo, Tallaght, Tullamore, Moate and Edenderry remain without an out-of- hours service 10 years after the initiative first began.

A national review of the GP-operated service by the Health Service Executive (HSE) found wide variations in how co-operatives are run and reimbursed, including: