Dr Joe Curran has practised in Connemara for the past five years. His patients live in an area which stretches from Renvyle, Co Galway, to the Co Mayo border at Lough Mask, a distance of 42 miles. He has noticed a 15 per cent drop in the number of patients in his practice during this time, reflecting a preponderance of elderly patients.
On average, Dr Curran is on call 144 hours per week. A sessional GP covers Monday mornings, but he must resume call at lunchtime. A weekend off stretches from Saturday lunchtime to Monday morning. Although entitled to six weeks' holiday a year, he is lucky to get locum cover for two. Next month, a two-week family holiday will only be realised with the help of three separate locums.
Dr Curran's wife, Auveen, is a professional in her own right and a mother of three young children. She is used to interruptions to family life. She recalls her husband's bleep going off repeatedly while she was in the labour ward of Castlebar Hospital. With no immediate medical cover available, Dr Curran remained on call for his patients throughout his child's birth.
Dr Curran appreciates the slower pace of rural general practice. "It makes up for being on call so much. I love the natural scenery and I feel appreciated, welcomed and needed by my patients," he says.