Senator seeks primary care facility for Gort

AN East Galway senator has called on the Government to ensure a primary care facility is provided in Gort and other towns across the constituency.
Labour’s Lorraine Higgins this week told junior health minister Kathleen Lynch the expansion of primary care facilities in East Galway must remain a priority.
Raising the matter in the Seanad with Minister Lynch, Senator Higgins urged the full expansion of primary care facilities to towns like Gort, Athenry, Loughrea, Ballinasloe, Tuam and Portumna.
“These facilities would provide a wide range of services essential for the well-being of members of these communities and include the promotion of health, screening, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, as well as personal social services. They are particularly attractive as a concept in that they are fully accessible by way of self-referral and operate as a one-stop shop for health needs,” she said.
Senator Higgins pointed out that although the term “primary health care facilities” is often used with the term “general practice”, the concept is much broader, as it involves many health professionals, delivering a wide range of services.
“That is the reason I request the Minister of State to expand the primary care team concept to Loughrea, Ballinasloe, Gort, Tuam, Portumna and Athenry, in the interest of providing accessible community care facilities to the citizens of these areas. If the Minister of State is minded to provide these facilities in these areas, I further ask that she make the necessary arrangements in the capital budget to implement this programme over the coming three years,” Senator Higgins stated.
In reply, Minister Lynch said the HSE’s national service plan for 2012 states that a primary care centre in Athenry will be delivered late in 2012 using the lease initiative.
“Construction of the facility has begun,” said Minister Lynch. “It is estimated that it will be completed late in the third quarter of 2012. The primary care team in Ballinasloe is accommodated in a building that was completed in 2003. Decisions on locations for primary care centres will be made in the context of the prioritisation exercise that is under way.”
Speaking to The Clare Champion, Senator Higgins said a primary care facility is necessary in Gort in order to “provide a wide range of health facilities in the community that are essential to the people in South Galway. It would be better if you broke your arm to be able to go and get treated locally, rather than going though the trauma of waiting in A&E.
“This type of facility would also relieve the pressure on our hospitals like University College Hospital Galway and Portiuncula Hospital. Overall, it would be better for all concerned if these services could be delivered in a community setting.”
Gort is an ideal location for a primary care facility, according to Senator Higgins as it could serve the wider population of South Galway.
“If this kind of service was provided in Gort, it would take in a number of surrounding towns and its hinterland. This is something we need in Gort, just like in Athenry, Ballinasloe and Loughrea because there has been a population increase in each of these towns during the construction boom. It would be great to see primary care health facilities provided at these locations in East Galway and this is something I will be working towards in my time in the senate,” she added.
Senator Higgins believes providing primary care facilities in these towns would be a positive move and would be particularly helpful for those experiencing mental health difficulties.
“I am anxious that we as a Government must deliver better health services for people in their own communities. I want to see people being able to go and get help themselves through self-referral.
“I have urged the minister to make the necessary arrangements in the capital budget so these primary care centres could be introduced in the next three years. Gort is one of the areas that I have earmarked for this and I am committed to doing my best to achieve this,” she added.
“Mental health services would be part and parcel of any such primary care facility. These centres would be able to deliver a wide range of services, including dentists, community welfare officers, physiotherapists, pharmacists, psychologists and so on. It would be a multi-disciplinary approach that we have not had the benefit of in Ireland to date.
“The existing service is not a fully integrated one like the type that is available in some European countries. Mental health awareness is something we must be cognisant of. There has been a huge increase in the numbers of people taking their own lives in the West of Ireland. Primary care facilities with psychologists able to assist people going through these difficult times would be a great addition.
“At the moment, people have to go to a doctor to be referred to a psychologist but a primary care facility where you can go along yourself takes the trauma out of the procedure for the person in terms of getting the service they require,” Senator Higgins concluded.