ShannonDoc, the after-hours urgent GP service for the Mid-West, has recorded its busiest Christmas ever, with a 50% increase in patient contacts on the same period 12 months previously.
Figures released on Wednesday by ShannonDoc show that during Christmas week, from December 23 to 30, the GP co-op had some 4,752 patient contacts, a 50% increase on the same period in 2023.
This resulted in 4,614 people receiving a consultation, requiring an estimated 2,307 staff hours in the week. It was a 51% increase in consultations compared to the same period in 2023 when there were 3,040 consultations.
The week in question covered the typical member GP practice leave of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and S. Stephen’s Day as well as the weekend that followed.
Such was the increase in community sickness that high volumes existed right across the Christmas shoulder periods, resulting in a 32% increase during the three-week period from December 23 to Sunday last, January 12.
In anticipation of a surge in contacts due to community sickness, ShanonDoc rostered 20% additional GPs, nurses and staff, along with additional line capacity, at their call centre.
The increase in staffing provided an additional 450 hours of rostered staff over this three-week period. All treatment centres were open, and patients were seen across all centres.
The huge increase in patient throughput resulted in a 7% reduction in routine contacts on the previous year as ShannonDoc prioritised “urgent” cases.
ShannonDoc Chief Executive Officer Peter Clarke paid tribute to the ShannonDoc team across the region for their work across the Christmas period.
“We anticipated a surge this Christmas and we certainly got it. There was a level of community sickness across the region that we haven’t seen for two years, and it really challenged us but we prepared well for it,” said Peter Clarke.
“For Christmas 2023, we put on an additional 20% resources and did the same again this year. Thankfully, we did because it was our biggest Christmas in terms of the number of contacts to our call-centre.
“Staff worked tremendously hard across the holiday period and showed great commitment and resilience in the face of the surge, so we are all grateful to them for that. It is a testament to their quality that we are managing to get through this period without any significant issues.”
Mr Clarke acknowledged challenges some people had in getting through to the call centre.
“No doubt some people may have been frustrated with delays in getting through to us or getting appointments, but it was only because of the throughput. We have a service level agreement with the HSE that provides for us to respond to all contacts within a six-hour period and we did that,” he said.
“The reality for us and patients is that we are an ‘urgent’ out-of-hours GP support, so we have to prioritise urgent cases ahead of routine patients.
“We would again ask, not least as the number of contacts we are receiving continues to be at a very high level, that the people would remember that and if their issue is not urgent, that if it is something that can wait for their GP to deal with the following day, that they should defer and seek an appointment with their GP.”
A new patient survey conducted by the Friends of Ennis Hospital from December 29 to January 6 paints a picture of a service that struggled over the holidays.
The group stated a “shocking” 20 patients out of the 112 who participated in the survey had to use a walk-in Clinic in Ennis or Limerick to get treatment having failed to get treatment elsewhere.
One West Clare patient said they had to wait hours for an appointment because there was no ShannonDoc in Kilrush, another person said they were ringing for hours while another respondent reported there was no GP available in Shannon or Sixmilebridge so they got appointment at walk-in clinic in Limerick.
Some of the other comment included: “After 37 calls to ShannonDoc three of which left me on hold for over 20 minutes, I had to drive to Ennis and wait in line for two hours to be seen.
“I can’t get into our local GP for weeks. I was sick then and needed a doctor appointment, which was not available for a few weeks. I had to go to walk-in clinic.
“It has become increasingly difficult to see a GP in my area.
“I had to move all my health business to Limerick (GP and dentist and most consultants) finally getting the right service that is impossible to get in Ennis
“There was no GP available,” said patients.
Some 27% of the remainder were treated by a GP though issues accessing GP services were also mentioned several times
Friends of Ennis Hospital Chairperson, Angela Coll said it was unfair to expect people from rural parts of West Clare to drive to a walk-in clinic in Ennis because there wasn’t a local out-of-hours service or a local GP available to them during the Christmas period.
“I live in Ennis and can get into a walk-in clinic in the town in about five minutes. If you are living in Kilbaha or Carrigaholt, Kilrush or Cooraclare, that is a long distance if you have a sick person travelling in a car with you,” she said.
“If you are living in East Clare and ring ShannonDoc, you are referred to Limerick or Nenagh. One East Clare respondent ended up going to a walk-in clinic in Ennis and another person who responded had to go to a walk-in clinic in Limerick.”
The group stated ShannonDoc was under huge pressure at present.
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.