Health Minister James Reilly has vowed to call on Irish medical professionals living abroad to return to Ireland once the Health (Provision of GP Services) Bill 2011 is passed.
Speaking during a debate on the Bill in the Seanad, Minister Reilly announced:
“I hope to be in a position to send out a call to doctors to come back to this country.”
“Senators are familiar with the rugby song, Ireland’s Call. I will issue my own ‘Ireland’s Call’ to bring our medical professionals back.”
The Bill will remove restrictions on GPs from holding a GMS contract and from treating medical card patients.
It means that suitably qualified GPs who have achieved the ICGP membership examination and been awarded the Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Training from the Medical Council can now obtain a GMS contract.
Minister Reilly said that two categories of GPs would have certain restrictions placed on their rights to take on and/or retain GMS patients under the current arrangements.
“These are GPs who hold GMS contracts on foot of interim entry provisions put in place in 2009 where they would have to wait until 2013 before treating any medical card or GP visit card patient, and certain GPs involved in partnerships, which have been dissolved or terminated before a specified period, would not be allowed to retain patients under their GMS list at the time of the dissolution of a partnership. The Bill will remove these restrictions, which is only proper, right and fair.
“A contract holder approved by the HSE in an area and who wishes to move location may only do so with the prior approval of the HSE. This is designed to ensure continuity of care for patients.
“We are allowing and encouraging open competition and if people want this, it is fine, but we have a duty of care to people who find it difficult to access general practitioners because their areas are unattractive for various reasons. We need to put in place incentives to address that.”
The Bill now moves to Committee stage on Wednesday, February 22.
