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Tag Archives: doctors

GPs split on the Eight

A SLIGHT majority of Clare GPs are in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment on the eve of Friday’s national referendum. While national opinion polls have shown a lead for the Yes side in the lead-up to the referendum, local GPs are almost equally divided on this question, with 11 in favour and nine against. According to a Clare Champion survey, seven local doctors who responded will be exercising their right to apply a conscientious objection to delivering a termination. It also emerged that of the 20 GPs surveyed, none were consulted by the Health Service Executive or the Department of Health about how terminations will be carried out in their practice. The Minister for Health Simon Harris has consistently stated he would like to see a GP-led service for the termination of pregnancy, if introduced in the country. Eleven GPs who were surveyed agreed with the idea of unrestricted permission to terminate a pregnancy up to 12 weeks, without …

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New video-link GP service for Kilrush

Plans have been unveiled for the provision of a video-based remote doctor service in Kilrush, as efforts intensify to halt cutbacks in the out-of-hours Shannondoc service in West and East Clare. It remains to be seen if this will satisfy campaigners seeking a full restoration of GP out-of-hours services throughout the county. Under a new rationalisation plan, which was supported by doctors at a recent annual general meeting, Shannondoc’s Kilrush and Ennistymon services will relocate to Miltown Malbay during weekdays, with the same operating hours applying. Kilrush and Ennistymon will only now open at weekends until 7pm. Shannondoc is to introduce a video-based remote doctor service at its Kilrush centre, allowing it to remain open nightly for two hours. The new service provides for a remote doctor to connect with the Kilrush clinic via a secure, high-definition video link. Patients will contact Shannondoc as they normally would and a triage nurse will first determine if the patient requires a GP …

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TDs support GPs ‘no’ to new contracts

SEVERAL TDs who attended the Mid-West meeting of general practitioners in Limerick last night said that they would not sign the proposed new contract, which has been offered to GPs,  if they were in practice themselves. This was outlined in statement isssued by the National Association of General Practitioners on Tuesday evening. Limerick TD Willie O’Dea said that nobody could contemplate signing a contract, which contained a ‘gagging’ clause. The deputy said the contract was more onerous than the one in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, which demanded a ‘pound of flesh’. The meeting was held as part of an on-going series of meetings that are being held across the country to highlight the opposition of GPs, not just to the new contract, but the on-going FEMPI cuts which are causing a crisis in general practice. The chair of the meeting, Dr Conor McGee, said that the on-going FEMPI cuts were discriminatory and affected elderly and more isolated people disproportionately. This …

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Public patients visit GP more often

SURGERIES will be overwhelmed by patients if the Government pursues its current objectives of introducing free GP visits for all citizens without any increase in resources for general practice. The warning has come from the GP Committee of the IMO in response to claims made by Minister for Primary Care, Alex White. Dr Ray Walley,  chairman of the GP Committee,  said that claims made on Monday by the Minister for Primary Care, Alex White TD, that there was “no evidence” that visit numbers would increase when free GP visits were introduced were “mistaken”.  “The Minister is wrong and his views are not supported by the research.  The Government has consistently used incorrect visitation rates as a starting point when the true figure, backed up by published research in the Irish Medical Journal, is 24 million consultations a year in general practice.  The research further demonstrates that demand for visits to GP services is likely to increase by four million visits a …

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325 hospital procedures cancelled

Up to 325 procedures covering surgery, out patient appointments and clinics in six acute  Mid-West hospitals were cancelled on Tuesday as a result of the junior doctors’ strike. The HSE has confirmed the cancellations affecting Clare patients were in the University  Hospital Limerick, University Maternity Hospital, Ennis Hospital, Croom Hospital, Nenagh Hospital. According to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), Sunday cover plus an Intensive Care Unit ((ICU) registrar will be provided at University Hospital Limerick, Ennis Hospital and Nenagh Hospital on Tuesday. “It is up to the hospital to make the necessary arrangements with regard to any cancellations they feel are necessary. “Chemotherapy services and dialysis will be protected. If further cover is needed over and above Sunday cover to ensure this then that will be provided,” said an IMO spokeswoman. The Mid-West HSE has stated any patient whose operation, clinic appointment or service is affected is being contacted directly by phone. Any patient who doesn’t directly  hear from the …

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