Most ill people are reluctant to call their GP in the middle of the night. And after a long day in the surgery, many GPs don't relish the prospect of a night call. But doctors in the midlands plan to change all that. They hope to introduce a new co-operative within a year.
A single call will get the patient through to a nurse who will assess the symptoms and call a doctor if necessary. If all GPs support the scheme, it will involve about 100 GPs.
The Midland Health Board has appointed a project manager to the scheme. "It would definitely mean less night work because of the co-operation," said Dr Adrian Honan of Portarlington. "At the moment you might have one doctor on call in one town, another in another town up the road and so on, instead of one doctor covering the whole area."
With the nurse processing calls, doctors will not have to have a discussion on the phone before making the house call.
Some older doctors may be reluctant to get involved in such a scheme, he said, but the decision should rest with the younger doctors who would feel the benefits.
Dr Honan has been doing out-of-hours work for 23 years. "You survive it. But young doctors won't do it any more. If we don't have co-ops, we won't have doctors in rural areas."
Dr John Madden, who is based at Abbeyleix, would welcome such a scheme. Last weekend, he started work on Friday at 9 a.m. and finished on Monday evening at 6 p.m., as he was providing weekend cover. "In effect, you are working 12 days a week."
As well as benefiting the patient and doctor, it would cut out unnecessary trips to accident and emergency departments at night, he said.
The South Eastern Health Board was the first region to introduce such a service. Caredoc has been providing a service to patients in Carlow and Kilkenny for almost three years. On May 9th, it will be extended to south Tipperary.
Patients are reporting a satisfaction rate of almost 97 per cent, according to Ms Anna Marie Lanigan, acting director of primary care with the South Eastern Health Board. Firsttime mothers and elderly people are the most common users of the service.
"In reality, if something happens at 3 a.m. you try to stick it out until the morning but now you don't have to do that anymore," she said.
The SEHB has had greater success in recruiting GPs in rural areas since Care-doc was introduced. "They know that the service is there and that it is working. It means a much greater quality of life for GPs in rural areas."