GP reform: More funding needs to be immediately invested in the Government's primary healthcare strategy if it is to have any hope of being implemented, according to a report to be published tomorrow. Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent reports
The strategy promised 600 primary care teams, membership of which would include family doctors, midwives, social workers, and physiotherapists, would be set up across the State between 2001 and 2011.
A progress report on its implementation to date, to be published by the Minister for Health Mr Martin, looks at 10 areas were primary healthcare teams were to be set up on a pilot basis. Some have had difficulty with staffing due to the employment ceiling placed on their local health board.
One source who was involved in the review said: "An increase in funding at this point is critical. It's no secret that the primary care strategy would not have got as much funding as it said it would need itself over the years."
The report suggests public/private partnerships should be looked at as a way of funding primary care teams, to provide one-stop-shop healthcare in the community for patients.
It also refers to the need for a cultural change among professionals if they are to work successfully together in the new teams.
Last night Dr James Reilly, president of the Irish Medical Organisation, said that regardless of what progress the review would claim had been made with primary care teams, it had been "a hugely disappointing exercise for GPs and most others involved".
The Government, he said, had not coming up with the funding promised to implement the strategy. "In terms of delivering services to patients it hadn't delivered. That is the bottom line. It promised much but delivered little. They are not providing any additional services other than was there already," he said.
He added that €130 million was promised for the implementation of the strategy each year over 10 years but in its first year it was only allocated €12 million and in its second year about €8 million. Dr Reilly said he had no difficulty with public/private partnership in primary care if the structure that was funded was owner-occupied.
He expressed grave reservations about weekend reports that multi-millionaire pharmacist Mr Fergus Hoban, the driving force behind Unicare before it was sold to Gehe, was planning to set up a nationwide chain of primary care centres. He said where general practice had been "corporatised" it had led to a deterioration in services for patients. There was also a danger doctors working in such a structure would lose their clinical independence and there was no knowing who the chain could be sold on to in a few years time, he added.
"The IMO will advise its members not to be seduced by what on the surface might appear to be a very attractive offer," he said. He added that the IMO would be raising its objections to the plan with the Department of Health and would be expressing its annoyance to the Department that it was not informed of or consulted about its consultations with Mr Hoban.