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THE OIREACHTAS HEALTH Committee has heard that there is a significant shortage of GPs in Ireland and that over 1,600 more will need to be recruited to meet population needs by 2028.
Both the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) and the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) attended the committee this morning and detailed how there were capacity issues within General Practice.
Speaking to the committee, Dr Val Moran, the head of GP Industrial Relations at the IMO, said that there are currently around 3,500 GPs in Ireland at present and that between 1,260 and 1,660 new GPs would need to be recruited by 2028 to meet both the needs of population growth, and the growing number of people aged over 65.
This figure becomes higher, according to the ICGP, when existing GP requirements are factored in, with the college estimating that over 2,000 will be needed.
Moran added that there is currently an average of 0.69 GPs per 1,000 population where an average of between 1.02 and 1.1 per 1,000 population is needed.
“Ireland has 29% fewer GPs per head than the UK, and existing GPs are seeing increased workload and demand,” said Dr Diarmuid Quinlan, Medical Director of the ICGP.
This is also not uniform, with rural areas having a lower ratio of GPs per 1,000 population.
“Some areas of the country have a much lower ratio of GPs per 1000 population. There’s numerous studies to show that the greater number of GPs per head of population, the better the health outcomes, including lower rates of overall causes of mortality,” said Moran.
Capacity issues within the sector are also being driven by internal demographic shifts, with Moran estimating that one-fifth of GPs are set to retire in the coming years.
“The demographic trends in general practice, no more than the rest of the population, are stark, with a growing proportion of GPs over 60.
“One-fifth of GPs are due to retire over the coming years.”
This figure is estimated to be over 700, according to the ICGP.
Burnout and the inability to take leave or sick leave was also raised by Moran, who said that GPs, particularly in rural areas are unable to access locums to cover them while they are out.
Moran called for the political system to address these capacity issues now, but said that it would not be a quick fix.
“There’s no one single quick fix and the suite of measures that need to be taken and addressing the problem will require significant and ongoing funding. The time to plan and invest was probably 10 years ago, but the next best time is now.”
New GPs
The committee heard that newly trained GPs facing obstacles to establishing practices, due to the high costs associated with it, including funding premises, IT and medical equipment.
“There’s significant financial cost that has to be incurred, and many younger GPs are just not in a position to take on that risk,” said Moran.
The IMO called for additional government supports to be made available to young GPs, including tax reliefs to help buy equipment and fund premises.
They also called for new partnership support funding, that would allow older GPs to take younger GPs in as assistants and then enter into a succession arrangement to take over a practice on a phased basis.
Currently, the ICGP are training 846 trainee GPs as part of a four-year National GP Training Programme.
The college have said that they are currently working with the HSE to increase the amount of training places available on a yearly basis, with 258 spots in 2022. The ICGP have said that they intend to reach 350 spaces by 2026.
I’m all for Body cameras, CCTV, ANPR etc where there is sufficient audit ability and with 2 conditions
1) In any criminal proceedings the defence has a full right to unedited footage.
2) Misuse of the system will result in both personal and state liability
@Bluechip78:
What kind of misuse are you talking about?
@The Great Unwashed: I would guess they are talking about cases where the bodycams are disabled on purpose..which has just been made a felony in USA as far as I know
@Bluechip78: @The Great Unwashed: Looks like your comment is a thinly veiled dig at the Gardaí from what I can see! Which is strange when you consider Gardaí themselves want the rollout of BodyCams to give greater protection and support to their members! Its generally found that with the introduction & use of Body Cameras to any particular Law-Enforcement Branch that Convictions increase, specifically early guilty plea based convictions! Also a common trend to see a reduction in the number of complaints against members of Law Enforcement or at the very least complaints tend be cleared quicker when there is BodyCam footage to view! The more pertient question is will those found to be making vexatious complaints against Gardaí be Criminally prosecuted after it’s easily proven what they did!?
@Nuffsaid Thatsall:
Totally agree – not sure why you’re including me in that, it was just a genuine query about how they could be misused.
@The Great Unwashed: turning them off- putting chewing gum on lense.
@Nuffsaid Thatsall: Then you’re misreading my comment, I have the utmost respect for the Gardaí and the work they do.
All I’m saying is that we need fairness and accountability.
@Nuffsaid Thatsall: thinly veiled dig? Or just an apt observation on misuse in other jurisdictions. 99% of Gardai, the overwhelmingly hard-working and conscientious members, will welcome them.
@Bluechip78: well number 1 will ever happen fora start. If a guard has it on for the duration of their shift then the defence will understandably only have access to the part relevant to their client which would more likely be only a small portion of the overall footage for that day
All they ll have to do now is find the Garda to put them on cause they sure as hell arnt there when u need them.
@Michael Mulcahy: won’t matter…they will buy the cheapest oil shyte (like the Hyundai cars..outdated IT..outdated uniform) and the images will be rubbish.
@Michael Mulcahy: what’s the agenda here? The Guards do a good job.
@Michael Mulcahy: what’s the agenda? The Guards are excellent.
@Michael Mulcahy: Support the guards, they do a good job. Don’t be negative.
Good idea. No doubt there’ll be more YouTube videos titled “Garda brutality” after this. But the clips will be just the same as is now….. not a single upload actually shows anything untoward
@Ronan McDermott: the only way that the videos would make their way into the public domain would be if the guards put them there themselves.
All for it…. So long as my right to film these Garda in their public duty, remains as intact as theirs.
They mentioned body cameras and tasers but went with the cameras. With all the feuds up and down the country it’s getting to the stage that we’ll have to arm the gardaí with pistols, shotguns, grenades, bazooka’s, Robocop…
@Boyne Sharky: bodycams are cheaper than tazers, its that simple
@Boyne Sharky: nah they won’t arm them with tasers. Guards getting assaulted isn’t enough. The attitude out there is they knew what they were signing up for. U can see it in the comment sections here regularly. The only way it will happen is if god forbid more guards are killed on the job.
I totally agree with body cams for guards, if it’s stops a small amount of their corruption its well worth it.
That’ll scare the living jaysus out of the criminal fraternity
Body cams make total sense. It provides protection to both the guard and the person on the other side of the camera if anything untoward happens.
Its about time the Gardai were given the proper training & equipment to deal with modern day policing. Those who complain about the use of Body Cams, ANPR, etc are the ones with something to hide.
And tazers
@Larry Roe: It makes no sense to me why Gardai don’t have tazers.
It’s about time, at least now we will be able to get both side of a story rather than only the one from people holding their phones :D
Good, might get some better quality homemade porno stuff next time yer wan comes to visit
I would be happy to see this introduced because gardai are constantly abusing there power
@Marty: i presume with that statement you have a full understanding of all the relevant Garda powers.
Ah yes. Can’t wait. “footage was misplaced”, “bodycam wasn’t operational at the time”…
We should have none watched CCTV every where , you become a victim of crime you have 90days to report it online or at a local crime report office.
With the date and time given they would search and see if your story checks out, then with the CCTV they can track the criminal/s leading to an arrest.
In high crime areas there would be watched live CCTV this control room would be supported by ground officers patrolling the area.
Old phone boxes could become a safe zone where you could lock your self in and contact the grada for help.
@Life is short enjoy it:
Good luck finding a phone box!
This is OK provided that members of the public are allowed to use body cameras while being interviewed by Gardai.
@Moorooka Mick: interviewed? Interviews are already recorded.
Yes but if the cops are not willing to come and investigate fearing racism in the first place ..bump.. Can we also wear them ?
Talking privately to a guard with a camera could well hinder the good relations that now exist with public. It looks invasive. Should be explained for clarity.
I meant in the course of their duty
https://www.thejournal.ie/photographing-gardai-duty-4239768-Sep2018/
About time, why do they drag their feet on important items like this. Every Garda should be armed with a Tazer too.
Robots, Soon it will be all robots
If there is a no deal Brexit there will be 50k lost jobs and greater strain on public services and allowances. Greater oversight and policing needed including cameras for guards. This will be cheaper than investing in youth reach and ‘rehabilitation’ programs. The legal class are in for a wind fall.
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