Home » Tag Archives: family doctors

Tag Archives: family doctors

Slow supply of flu vaccine putting pressure on Clare GPs

A BUSY GP practice in Ennis was offered just 200 doses for a total of 1,400 patients, The Clare Champion has learned. Dr Máire Finn, said her practice, which is located on Francis Street, eventually secured an initial delivery of 540 doses and 600 more a fortnight later. “Supply is very poor,” Dr Finn said, “and it’s a nationwide problem. It’s a procurement issue because there is huge demand internationally.” She said that demand had seen a welcome increase this year, in the face of the pandemic. “There is big public buy in and people really want to get it,” Dr Finn noted. “We are prioritising the over 65s and carers for those who are vulnerable. Normally, we would be running massive vaccination clinics, but we can’t do that in the normal way because of social distancing. The thing is that the flu season continues until March. Normally, the advice is to get the vaccine as soon as possible, but …

Read More »

GPs under pressure due to parental Covid questions

FAMILY doctors are braced for a challenging winter, with pressure already coming on the service just weeks after children returned to school. Already a number of primary classes have had to be suspended temporarily and at least one national school closed due to Covid-19. There is also said to be considerable confusion over what kind of symptoms should raise red flags over attendance at school. “When it comes to the public health guidelines, it seems that the advice from every source is to contact your GP,” said Dr Máire Finn of the Centric Medical Centre. “Given the pressures the service is under, we can’t be the only port of call. We are getting a large number of people with questions over whether or not children should be going to school and sometimes, we just can’t answer them. I can foresee a situation where the whole winter is taken up with people keeping kids off school when they should be in, …

Read More »

Clare doctors in the frame for remote consulting

THE use of remote consulting has become more important for Clare’s family doctors during the current Covid-19 pandemic. While remote consulting will not work for every patient, Doctor Michael Kelleher has acknowledged it is very beneficial to be able to see a patient on video and establish whether they are unwell and discuss their concerns. “Covid-19 has forced doctors to use remote consulting in a way you don’t have much choice but to use it. It is a very welcome development but it has its limitations. “It is very useful in scenarios where a doctor and a patient know each other very well and where the consultation doesn’t need a hands-on examination. “It is very useful for reviewing patients you have already seen them, know them very well and have their medical record, which in most cases is electronic. “There is a big difference between a doctor dealing with a patient he knows well remotely compared to logging on to …

Read More »