Vacant GP jobs show scale of rural crisis

The representative body of general practitioners has cited two vacant positions in County Galway as evidence of a long term under-investment in general practice in rural communities.

The Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) fears that rural parts of Galway may be left without a GP in future unless cuts are reversed and the job made more attractive.

ICGP has pointed out the Health Service Executive (HSE) is having difficulty filling two GP positions in County Galway for years.

They are among 18 GP positions across the country that the HSE cannot fill.

ICGP said that there is a vacancy for a GP in Moycullen for the over six and a half years. The HSE said it had been “previously advertised and no applicants” applied for the position. A locum is currently in the position. There are 592 people in Moycullen who are registered for medical cards.

Meanwhile, ICPG said that the GP position on two Aran Islands – Inis Óirr and Inis Meáin – has been vacant and filled by a locum for over seven years. Some 255 people are registered for medical cards on the two islands.

ICGP said it is currently analysing its membership data and initial indications from this research “exposes the growing threat to the sustainability of general practice and rural general practice in particular, from the combined impact of an aging GP population and the emigration preferences of newly qualifying GPs”.

Preliminary ICGP data shows that up to a fifth of general practitioners are aged 60 or above with almost a third aged over 55. The research indicated that 12.5% of trainee GPs are planning to emigrate post qualification and a further 25% are undecided. Most quoted uncertainty about security in their professional roles as the most significant cause of concern.

“The situation is most severe in rural areas,” said Dr Margaret O’Riordan, Medical Director of ICGP.

“Unless corrective measures are introduced, the current trends in emigration and retirement will result in fewer GPs to treat patients in rural areas in the next ten years. Rural GPs have been hardest hit by austerity. The services patients enjoy in rural locations are not sustainable without restoration of some of the cuts made under FEMPI (Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) or the Rural Practice Allowance, or both.

“Our analysis indicates a high number of GPs coming close to retirement age and many established GPs are very disillusioned with the current situation regarding general practice in Ireland. The difficulty facing the HSE in attracting GPs is only likely to worsen unless these issues are addressed. In this scenario, patients throughout the country, and particularly patients in rural areas, will face increasing difficulty accessing a general practitioner in their local area in the years to come,” she added.