The HSE has been meeting with elected representatives and members of the Regional Health Forum in light of concerns about the out of hours GP service in Donegal and Leitrim.
At present, it’s operated by NoWDOC, but Carlow based company ‘Caredoc’ is in discussions with the HSE with a view towards taking the service over.
Regional Health Forum Chair Cllr Gerry McMonagle says while no guarantees were given, it was a positive discussion……….
HSE Statement –
‘The NoWDOC GP Out of Hours Service provides an urgent GP service to patients in Co Donegal and South Leitrim.
The current operating model of GP OOH Service is managed and delivered by the HSE (NoWDOC) as part of a hybrid model with Caredoc providing GP’s for the delivery of care.
Exploratory discussions have commenced with relevant stakeholders surrounding the most effective arrangements needed to continue to deliver a safe quality driven service for our community. The examination of the service at this time forms part of the HSE response to clinical concerns raised by Caredoc & NoWDOC staff.
We remain fully committed to supporting our staff who are working in our NoWDOC service, and we will continue to ensure that we maintain excellent working relationships with all our partners and are very focused on working with staff and their representative bodies to explore all options available for the potential redesign of the operating model for the GP Out of Hours service in Donegal and South Leitrim to meet any challenges which are being identified.
As part of these communications the HSE has met today with the Donegal Regional Health Forum and Oireachtas members and provided an update in relation to the NoWDOC GP Out of Hours service. This was a positive and constructive engagement and the concerns raised by the public representatives are being listened to. We have given assurances that the HSE are continuing to work in partnership with NoWDOC & Caredoc to ensure that the public using the GP Out of Hours Service, and the staff working in the service, are provided with the necessary supports to deliver the best care to our service users, while ensuring that patient safety and quality of service are at the forefront of service delivery.
The HSE will continue to communicate and engage with all relevant stakeholders to ensure they are fully appraised of, and consulted on, any future developments.’
