Talks between the Government and doctors’ representatives on a new contract for general practitioners are to re-commence on Wednesday.
A deal with GPs on new services and working arrangements is key to the Government’s overall healthcare reforms which will see more care being carried out in the community rather than in hospitals.
However, the talks effectively stalled several months ago after the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) said Government proposals were not acceptable.
Speaking in advance of the talks on Wednesday IMO chief executive Susan Clyne said the negotiations would be very challenging .
She said the Government did not seem to understand the depth and seriousness of the crisis affecting general practice.
Ms Clyne said the Government’s announcement in the budget that it would provide access to an additional 100,000 people to GP-visit cards would make things more difficult.
She said already many people were finding it difficult to access GP services due to capacity problems.
She said the IMO was expecting the Government to put forward serious proposals in the new talks to alleviate the problems affecting general practice on foot of the cuts of 38 per cent imposed over recent years under financial emergency legislation.
Last week when the new talks were announced, the IMO said its core issues were; the need to restore funding to general practice to the levels in place before austerity-era cuts were applied, to support existing patient services, as well as the provision of additional money for new patient services.
On Tuesday a Department of Public Expenditure spending review suggested that maximizing efficiency in general practice could generate up to €100million in savings.
Last week the Minister for Health Simon Harris said he had reached agreement in recent days with the Minister for Public Expenditure on a substantial multi-annual budget for the provision of GP services.
The Minister said he envisaged the talks with GPs would be like a three-leg stool. He said one part would focus on measures to make existing practices sustainable; the second element would deal with the provision of chronic disease management in general practice and the third would address the provision of greater access to primary care.
He said on foot of his agreement with the Department of Public Expenditure the policy objectives of his department had been aligned with the available funding stream.
