'No plans to withdraw' SouthDoc services in Cork and Kerry amid doctor shortages
A service level agreement between SouthDoc and the HSE requires service from 6pm to 8am on weekdays and 24-hour cover at weekends and public holidays.
The SouthDoc out-of-hours GP service in Cork and Kerry has insisted there are no plans to change the night-time service despite local concerns as doctors’ rosters are re-allocated around the region.
A public meeting on Monday heard concern the late-night or ‘red-eye’ service in Fermoy could be curtailed, however, SouthDoc has now robustly denied this.
“All patients in Cork and Kerry are entitled to access the service and there are no plans to withdraw access from the population as a whole, or any specific cohort,” a spokeswoman for SouthDoc and HSE Cork Kerry Community Healthcare said.
A service level agreement between SouthDoc and the HSE requires service from 6pm to 8am on weekdays and 24-hour cover at weekends and public holidays. “SouthDoc does not have any plans to alter this quantum of service commitment,” the spokeswoman said.
However, it has re-allocated GPs across the region which she said is directly linked to doctor shortages. “These adjustments relate to the doctors’ rosters only and will not impact the service provision overnight,” the spokeswoman said.
“All patients are currently dealt with by appointment only and this will remain unchanged. Any patients that may require a home visit, due to their clinical condition, will also be treated accordingly.” This was supported by GPs.
SouthDoc chairman Dr Andrew Crosbie said consultations jumped from 162,000 in 2006 to 231,000 last year.
“That’s 40% more appointments with the same number of GPs, so the rosters need to be adjusted accordingly,” he said. “These changes are part and parcel of an operational update and will not affect availability or services to patients.”
In Fermoy, Dr Deirdre O’Grady said SouthDoc offers faster access to doctors than is common, and said: “These roster adjustments in North Cork will not challenge that in the slightest.”
Medical director Dr Gary Stack said: “Patients will continue to be seen in a safe and timely fashion. What we are doing is in the best interest of the patients.”
HSE head of primary care for the region Priscilla Lync, also moved to reassure patients care would be available when needed. “There is no reduction in service with these roster changes,” she said. “All patients will be triaged as usual and offered appropriate care, by appointment, if required.”
However, Labour TD Seán Sherlock, who convened Monday’s public meeting, said questions remain.
“I hope that SouthDoc has gauged the level of anger felt by the public at the proposed loss of Red Eye GP cover for Fermoy and Mitchelstown. This is not something that we as local politicians are going to take lying down,” he said.
He warned of consequences for services in Mallow and Midleton from the re-allocation of doctors, and said: “From an industrial relations point of view I question the legality of this decision because there was no proper consultation with workers.”
He also raised queries about the service level agreement with the HSE, and said: “We need clear and unambiguous language from SouthDoc and the HSE that this decision is being reversed.”
Similar fears were raised recently around potential changes to the Kanturk service, with a petition to retain red-eye services gathering huge local support. Local TD Micheal Moynihan was reassured by the HSE and Department of Health changes are not planned there.
A HSE Cork/Kerry spokeswoman said: "All Southdoc calls are responded to via the main call centre in Killarney, who triage patients and make an appointment at a treatment centre, if required.
"If an individual in Kanturk requires care, that care can be provided by appointment in the Kanturk Treatment Centre, or via home visit, depending on clinical condition of the patient as assessed by the consulting doctor."
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