Residents of Cork's northside criticise continued closure of Southdoc Blackpool

Residents in the vast catchment area of Cork City's northside say the closure of Southdoc on Commons Rd, Blackpool, is causing them undue stress and financial burden. Picture: Dan Linehan

Sick residents on the northside of Cork City have avoided seeking medical attention since an out-of-hours GP service closed there at the start of the pandemic and never reopened.

The human impact of the closure of Southdoc in Blackpool is “harrowing” according to Sinn Féin TD, Thomas Gould. 

But Southdoc says that it had no complaints relating to clinical care last year, and that sick or injured patients are seen either at the southside centre, or at their homes.

Tim Barry — who has a heart condition, and lives in Faranree with his wife, who has COPD — said the closure of Blackpool Southdoc has prevented them from seeking out-of-hours care, even when his wife was extremely ill.

"When I rang Southdoc, they said Southdoc Blackpool was closed so we’d have to make our way to the southside," Mr Barry said.

"We don’t have a car so basically she had to hang on until the morning. 

"Since they pulled Southdoc in the north side they’re not providing a service. To get a taxi to the southside costs €35-€40. People don’t have that money. And there's no bus service. If only one centre was left open it should have been in the northside where you can at least get a bus to.

"If it can’t be reopened in Blackpool it should be opened in the old orthopaedic hospital [St Mary’s Health Campus, Gurranabraher]."

Southdoc says that it had no complaints relating to clinical care last year, and that sick or injured patients are seen either at the southside centre, or at their homes.

A spokesperson for Southdoc said that when there is a clinical need to see a patient who cannot for some clinical reason attend the centre, the doctor will arrange a house call.

An assessment of calls from a 114-day period from October 1, 2020, to January 22, 2021, shows there were 6,082 patient contacts from the traditional Blackpool catchment area, Southdoc says. 

Of these, 933 resulted in visits to the southside treatment centre (an average of 8.18 per day) and 89 doctor visits to homes in the Blackpool area (an average 0.78 per day). 

"Our GPs, as with all doctors, have an obligation to discharge their duty in line with the clinical needs of the patient. 

If that requires a house visit, as illustrated by our statistics, that visit takes place," a spokesperson said.

"Southdoc has a robust patient complaints programme and would urge anyone who has a complaint to contact us immediately so that we can fully explore the issue."

But Elaine Ní Conchuir from the northside of the city believes that a lot of people are "just suffering on". 

Friends and neighbours have told her they now avoid Southdoc despite needing medical care, she said: 

“I know the health service is under a lot of pressure, but people still have a basic right to healthcare, even during a pandemic. There are a lot of elderly people living here who wouldn’t have families to drive them places."

Before Christmas, she was too ill to drive, so had to pay a reduced rate of €30 for a taxi to and from the Kinsale Rd Southdoc centre.

"I’m a lone parent on disability with two children. It was money that I wouldn’t have. And it was very difficult to source a taxi because we’re in the middle of a pandemic.

"It is a deterrent for people. People don’t want to ring Southdoc because they know they can’t afford to get out there."

Greg Aherne said that he has had to nurse his two young daughters through the night when they fell ill without professional oversight since the Blackpool Southdoc closure.

"It’s crazy because from about 5pm on weekdays we have no doctor on the northside and at the weekends, we have no GP facilities at all," he said. 

"Southdoc was brilliant when it was there, particularly for someone like myself with kids. I don’t drive. So when your kids get sick we’d have to wait until the following morning. And there’s a lot of elderly around, they’re in need of a medical service."

The human impact of the closure of Southdoc in Blackpool is “harrowing” according to Sinn Féin TD, Thomas Gould. 

Local Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould said those affected by the closure of Southdoc Blackpool need to be listened to.

“These are really devastating stories. While Southdoc has told the HSE that they don’t have responsibility for the overall healthcare system, they do have a responsibility to their own patients," he said.

“There should be no-one in this State worried about affording healthcare — yet people are terrified of needing Southdoc and not being able to afford the taxi fare. That is the harsh reality of this closure."