Nearly €8 million spent on GP out-of-hours services in Midlands that's now in limbo

Fees paid to doctors accounted for more than €3 million out of almost €8 million in public money spent by the HSE in providing urgent out-of-hours GP care in Laois and other midlands counties in 2022.

The spend on the service which is now in limbo, was confirmed by the HSE in response to queries from the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

The HSE said total direct costs of the HSE run Midoc GP Out of Hours Services in the Midlands is €4.6 million. It said this includes the non-doctor costs for the 5 treatment centres, including nursing, receptionists, drugs and medical & surgical supplies.

The HSE said it also includes the direct HSE costs associated with the call centre and the nurse triage centre.

Apart from the direct costs, doctors also have to be paid. The HSE said it paid €3.2m to MIDOC GP Company Limited by Guarantee and MIDOC Athlone for the provision of medical staff and some additional drivers for the out of hours centres.
 
In total, the HSE said provisional total cost to the HSE of running GP out-of-hours services in the Midlands is  €7.8m for 2022.

The counties covered are Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath. 

Doubts over what way the service, excluding Midoc Athlone, remain after MIDOC GP CLG ceased trading on December 31. The HSE said just after Christmas that it was disappointed that MIDOC GP CLG has made the decision to cease trading for an indefinite period.

MIDOC GP CLG coordinated the rotas and payments for the local GP’s and locum GP’s who worked in the out of hours service for Laois, Offaly, Mullingar and Longford. Athlone is run seperately.

A statement said at the time that the HSE Midlands Louth Meath Community Healthcare has been engaging with MIDOC GP  for a number of months to help address the "financial challenges it faced".

To bridge the gap to what it described as a "sustainable model", the HSE said it had put in place an interim solution. Asked for an update on January 17, the HSE said arrangements have been put in place between the HSE, an unnamed third party provider and local GPs to ensure continuity of care.

"There has been no disruption to the urgent out of hours GP services in the Midlands. The provision of MIDOC GP out of hours services for the Midlands is continuing. 

"HSE Midlands Louth Meath CHO is currently in the process of seeking an alternative provider with a view to having that provider in place shortly. It is envisaged that a tender process will commence in the coming months to support the local GPs in finding a permanent provider. In the meantime, HSE Midlands Louth Meath CHO is managing the previous role of MIDOC GP CLG and that interim solution will continue until an alternative provider is in place," it said.

The HSE advised patients to be aware that they must make an appointment and there is no drop-in facility. It said the service should only be used for urgent cases that cannot wait for the next routine surgery appointment. If a patient’s medical issue is not urgent, that patient should make an appointment to see your GP during normal clinic hours.

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Where symptoms are mild, the HSE advised that patients should access the HSE www.undertheweather.ie website for helpful self-care advice and attend their pharmacy for over the counter medication as appropriate.

The HSE said patients who require urgent GP care can call the same number 1800 302702 & if required will be directed to one of the existing HSE owned treatment centres https://www2.hse.ie/services/ find-a-gp-out-of-hours/