THE COMPANY that provides an “out-of-hours” doctors’ service in the midwest serving 275,000 people last year has posted an annual loss of €66,329.
According to accounts filed with the Companies Office by Shannondoc Ltd, the company last year sustained the loss despite increasing its income by 4.7 per cent from €5.7 million to €6 million.
Shannondoc’s general manager Larry Maher said yesterday that the loss “is not an issue of concern” to the company.
The losses – which follow the company recording a surplus of €5,800 in 2007 – have been absorbed by the company’s accumulated surplus, which stood at €106,110 at the start of 2008. At year end, the loss reduced the surplus to €39,781.
Last April, the Health Service Executive (HSE) ended 24-hour AE services at Ennis and Nenagh General Hospitals with the units closed between 8pm and 8am each day.
The move was made despite protests from GPs in the Clare and north Tipperary areas. Mr Maher yesterday reported that since April, there has been a 22 per cent increase in calls to Shannondoc’s Ennis service between 8pm and 8am.
Mr Maher said that calls to Shannondoc’s Nenagh service since April have increased by 33 per cent, though from a lower base.
“There have been operational difficulties, but we have worked around them and have had the flexibility to deal with any issues. We are coping well enough,” he said.
Mr Maher said that the Shannondoc service has been helped by the HSE providing an additional doctor in Ennis and Nenagh between 8pm and 2am since the closure of 24-hour accident and emergency services. “Having the extra doctor has relieved the pressure,” he said.
Last year, it cost €6.1 million to provide the Shannondoc service and the company’s greatest source of funding came from the HSE, which increased its contribution by 6 per cent from €4.3 million to €4.6 million.
“The worry and the big concern for next year is that our funding will be cut and the impact that will have on services. We have become embedded in the health service in the region,” said Mr Maher.
Shannondoc provides primary medical cover for GPs during out-of-surgery hours for the midwest, excluding the Limerick city area, and the accounts show last year, the service dealt with 95,217 calls.
This represented an increase of 5.7 per cent on calls in 2007 and the areas to show the highest increase were Kilrush (25 per cent) and the service’s Triage Centre (23 per cent).
The directors’ report recorded that for the first time, the number of patients dealt with by doctors has decreased, if only very slightly at 340 patients.
They state: “We believe that there are a number of contributory factors to this: onset of the economic recession in the latter half of the year led to a greater willingness to accept nurse advice and the number of foreign nationals accessing the service fell.”
The service employs 134 staff comprising 43 drivers, 51 medical staff and 40 in administration. The employment costs rose 8 per cent from €3.8 million to €4.2 million.
