The HSE’s focus on holding primary care team meetings “is not the right approach and does not equate to a functioning team”, a new report from the ICGP has found.

Entitled, “Primary Care Teams – A GP Perspective”, it states that the implementation of the primary care strategy has been “piecemeal at best”. “One size does not fit all and national approaches that do not take cognisance of local needs are doomed to fail,” the report outlined.

In a detailed analysis of the operation of PCTs across the country, GPs were asked for their views on the advantages and barriers associated with operating PCTs.

The report highlights that 42 per cent of GPs, in a recent ICGP survey, said that they were not part of a PCT. Almost 65 per cent said that they felt PCTs were “poorly functioning” and 44 per cent believed that PCTs would not be able to deliver chronic disease management in their current form.

The report concludes that assigning GPs to teams based on location rather than general practice registration is a “fundamental flaw in the methodology employed to define a PCT”.

It states that aims are not clearly outlined and clerical support for GPs is hugely lacking. The fact that GPs do not receive travel and expenses for attending meetings, unlike other PCT members, is another source of frustration.

The absence of secure email, flexibility and communication between existing PCTs was also highlighted. The report was compiled by Dr Margaret O’Riordan, head of quality and standards with the ICGP.

Speaking to IMN, Dr O’Riordan said the first part of the study was to define a functioning PCT. The definition from the report states a functioning PCT is, “where a patient receives a better standard of care from interacting with a team than they would receive from dealing with individual health professionals.

In essence, teamwork leads to the sum being greater than the parts leading to improved quality of service for the patient.” Dr O’Riordan stressed that while some teams are not working well, others are operating very successfully.

She said that the most important of the 10 recommendations in the report is that if GPs are to be the “lynchpin” that support the health service, resources must be ring-fenced. The College is now seeking a meeting with the Health Minister to discuss the report’s findings.