Senator Aisling Dolan - Strong Voice, New Vision.
Senator Aisling Dolan has welcomed the announcement of €436,000 in Government funding for the Out of Hours GP Urgent service for the Ballinasloe and South East Galway area.
Senator Aisling Dolan, based in Ballinasloe, stated,
This announcement of €436,000 in Government funding for the Our of Hours GP Urgent Service is fantastic news for GPs and families living in Ballinasloe, the South East Galway area and the wider region.
I was informed of this Department of Health funding allocation today by Minister Anne Rabbitte, with whom I attended a cross party meeting of regional public representatives last week, resulting in a joint submission to the Minister for Health on the need for this funding.
The group practices of Marina House Medical, Dunlo Medical Centre cover the Ballinasloe catchment area including South Roscommon together with the single practices for Laurencetown Medical Centre, Eyrecourt Medical Centre, Kiltormer Medical Centre.
I want to express my thanks to Dr Genevieve Flynn and all the GPs who met with HSE and public representatives including Minister Anne Rabbitte a number of weeks ago.
I have raised the need for this funding a number of times in the Seanad and worked with government colleagues to highlight the crisis in our GP networks. HSE Community Healthcare West have supported this request from the GP network to expand the Westdoc service and now the Ballinasloe & South East Galway area is included.
This funding will be life-changing for GPs who spoke of working excessive hours, travelling long distances and no proper breaks. This means that our GPs who are invaluable to families in rural areas will now have access to Out Of Hours GP Urgent cover. These supports will also improve the quality of life for GPs reducing risks to patient and doctor safety and assist in recruiting GPs to our region.
