HSE counts the €1.7m cost of Galway GP crisis

The HSE has had to fork out €1.7 million for locum doctors to fill gaps left by vacant GP positions across the county – some of them unfilled for up to three-and-a-half years.

There are currently six vacant GP roles across Galway – four of which are having to be covered by locum GPs, each at a cost of around €10,000 per month.

That was revealed on foot of a question to Community Healthcare West from Councillor Dáithí Ó Cualáin, who is himself a nurse by profession.

That the HSE was paying nearly double what a permanent GP would get showed funding wasn’t the issue, said Cllr Ó Cualáin, but it highlighted a timebomb facing healthcare in Ireland – significant numbers of retirements, coupled with a dearth of new doctors and challenging working conditions.

“The average wage of a GP in Ireland is €60,000 to €80,000 per annum so you’d have to ask if paying double that for locums is good value for taxpayers.

“While we need GP services, the HSE needs to look at the bigger picture. The on-call 24/7 scenario is a big one for GPs and that’s something that needs to be dealt with. We are forecast to have 700 GP retirements between now and 2028,” said the Conamara South councillor.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie