Connacht Tribune
Westdoc constraints to be raised with Minister
The Minister of State at the Department of Health has said it is “strange” that GPs from Moycullen and Oughterard have been refused entry to the Westdoc out-of-hours service and will raise the issue with Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
However, the local GP service has said that it has already been refused “urgently increased funding” under the Sláinte Care initiative which it needs to grow the service.
Minister Mary Butler has agreed there are “huge challenges” in providing GP and out-of-hours services in this country, particularly in rural areas.
She was responding to issues raised in the Seanad by Galway-based senator Sean Kyne, who has called for Westdoc to be expanded to include Moycullen, Rosscahill and Oughterard and that investment in GP services needs to be increased.
“We do not invest adequately in primary care services in Ireland and a much greater portion of our overall health budget should be invested in primary care. The funding should recognise the unique relationships between GPs and their patients. It should prioritise care in the community and strive for outcomes that avoid ever having to attend crowded emergency departments or acute hospitals.
“Areas such as Corrandulla and Oughterard in Galway, among others, have been left without a service or with a diminished service, forcing local people to travel to attend a GP. And this only relates to weekday GP services, the situation in respect of out-of-hours services is even more troubling. Despite the efforts of GPs serving the Moycullen, Rosscahill and Oughterard communities, among other areas, local GPs are still not included in the Westdoc service.
“The local GPs serving the Moycullen, Rosscahill and Oughterard areas are working flat out to provide a service out of hours and at weekends for their local communities. The HSE is currently, and I must emphasise that this is during a pandemic, providing locum cover on a one-in-five basis but only in the short term with no commitment to maintaining this provision into the future.
“In many areas, over 90% of doctors are covered by out-of-hours services. In the area that I am talking about, the eastern part of Connemara, that coverage is barely over 60%. It is unfair, unsafe and unsound. The local community and GPs deserve better.
“More funding must be provided to Westdoc for its expansion in order that all communities are covered and have the certainty of a comprehensive GP service 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Senator Kyne.
He said he had been contacted by GPs who were refused entry to Westdoc.
““I have been contacted by Moycullen and Oughterard GPs, who have been refused entry to Westdoc and have requested intervention. To put this into context, they say that when they are on call, they are on call for 48 hours every fourth weekend and every fourth night, as well as providing full weekday services. As one can imagine, that is a very onerous task for them to undertake, both physically and mentally in terms of their own well-being, but also in relation to that of patients. A more sustainable model needs to be put in place and the funding must be provided for access to the Westdoc service for this local area,” said Senator Kyne.
Minister Butler responded: “I take on board the point made by Senator Kyne that some doctors have applied to join the out-of-hours co-operative, and I will take that back to the Minister. I find it hard to understand why, when there is a shortage of doctors, they are finding it difficult to access a co-operative. It is strange.
“Funding for the service is provided through a service level arrangement with HSE community healthcare organisation, CHO2. In 2020, this organisation received almost €3.9 million in funding through this arrangement. In 2019, in addition to the funding allocated through the service level arrangement, HSE primary care operations allocated an additional sum of €150,000 to CHO2 for the provision of extra staffing for the GP rota in rural areas.
“I understand that CHO2 engaged directly with Westdoc to ensure that this funding was allocated to the area of greatest priority within that service, extending weekend cover in north Connemara, south Connemara and Achill.
“It is acknowledged that the Westdoc service does not extend to certain rural areas within the region, and that additional funding would be required to extend the service that is currently being provided. I understand that this places additional pressures on GPs in the area,” said Minister Butler.
Senator Kyne said he will push it at local level to try and secure additional funding for Westdoc and get admission to the doctors serving the Moycullen, Rosscahill and Oughterard areas.
In response to queries from the Connacht Tribune, Brian O’Keeffe, Chief Executive of Westdoc issued the following statement: “Westdoc provides Urgent Out Of Hours GP Care to one of the largest geographic areas in the Country, namely Galway Mayo and Roscommon. Westdoc strives at all time to increase membership and service across the three counties.
“Westdoc cannot expand any further without increased funding and to this end met with Minister Simon Harris last year to brief him on the situation in the West of Ireland and how urgently increased funding was required. He accepted our concerns and suggested we apply for such funding from a newly-launched Sláinte Care initiative. This we did but sadly were unsuccessful in our application. Westdoc will continue to pursue additional funding required, working very closely with the HSE.”
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
