HSE says it couldn't penalise SouthDoc service for its closures in Cork and Kerry

TD tells PAC that patients were using hospital A&E in wake of the GP service's unilateral decision to close two of its facilities

At yesterday's PAC, Anne O’Connor, the chief operations officer of the HSE, said the health service didn't have evidence that SouthDoc 'didn't deliver a service'. File Picture: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

The HSE has said that it isn’t in a position to penalise the SouthDoc out-of-hours GP service after the prolonged closure of two of its facilities as “there isn’t evidence that they weren’t providing a service”.

The executive’s appearance yesterday morning before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) saw the issue of two service closures by SouthDoc discussed at length.