Patients face doctor delays as GP crisis grips Cork and Kerry
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Patients across Cork and Kerry face delays in seeing a doctor as the GP workforce crisis continues in rural areas as well as in Cork city.
Medical card holders at two practices in Kenmare and Cork city do not currently have a permanent doctor assigned to them, the HSE said.
Instead, those patients are seen by other already-overworked doctors locally.
A HSE spokeswoman declined to say how many patients are affected, saying the details are commercially sensitive.
These arrangements are expected to remain until November, although recruitment for the Cork list has begun.
Meanwhile, in South Kerry, GP numbers remain below national targets despite improvements in recent months.
Dr Brian O’Donovan, 63, had been due to retire this summer but concerned at leaving his patients without a doctor, has decided to stay on.
He previously told the that this practice, with 1,400 medical-card patients and private patients, could support two doctors.
The HSE spokeswoman said: “We understand that this GP intends to continue their practice indefinitely."
A second practice in the town has a new GP, Dr Miguel Casali, who took over from a recently-retired doctor.
The nearby town of Waterville has one GP, meaning there are just three for this large area.
Caitlín Breathnach of local action group Tascfórsa Uíbh Ráthaigh welcomed the improvements but said gaps remain compared to national targets for patient-doctor ratios.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said the ratio now is 65 GPs per 100,000 people around the country.
His aim is to follow Scotland’s model and reach “more than 90 per 100,000 people” in five years.
Ms Breathnach said: “If it was 90 per 100,000, that would mean 8.1 GPs would be needed here to meet that target and at the moment it would be 5.85 per 100,000. But we have three, and the minister has said publicly that given the ratios, we should have 5.85.”
Taskforce members have met the minister and have been working closely with local HSE offices to solve this issue. She highlighted the commitment of everyone involved.
Dr Gary Stack, a GP in Killarney and HSE GP lead for South Kerry, said the changes are “a temporary improvement”, with more solutions needed.
“Infrastructure is the big issue — that and having enough support staff,” he said.
He described the need for any young doctor coming to the area to recruit their own staff as “a big deterrent” based on feedback they have received.
The national crisis in GP numbers will be discussed today at the Irish College of GPs national conference in Dublin.
While 92% of people living in rural areas said they have a GP, a worrying 54% said they had to wait two days or more for an appointment during the last year, an Irish Examiner survey found this summer.
Only 82% have a hospital emergency department in their area, which further emphasises the need for GP services.
The college has also warned that population growth of 3.1% last year outstripped the rise in GP numbers at just 0.6%.