GP assignment policy
Deputy Higgins questioned whether the HSE had stopped assigning a GP after three refusals and asked for the policy to be reviewed. The Minister for Health said the policy was still active and he would revert with a note.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Earlier this week, I highlighted a discrepancy in the HSE guidance for GP care. Its website states that if three GPs decline somebody care, they can contact the HSE and it will assign them a GP, but it appears that last month it stopped doing this. That means people who cannot access healthcare can no longer get an intervention from the HSE to provide them with GP care. Was there a change in the policy? If so, at the very least, we need to update the information, but can we re-examine the policy? It means people the State has determined are entitled to free GP care are not getting assistance to access what is a basic human right.
Comment on this
The latest CSO data show a massive discrepancy in disposable income between Dublin and the south west versus the Border areas, the midlands and the south east. In fact, for Dublin and the south west, the figures are 20% and 4% above the average, respectively, while the figure for the south east and the midlands is minus 20%. There is a 40% difference, therefore, in disposable income, which might be related to the representation in the Cabinet. Is the Tánaiste aware of these numbers and is he going to try to effect some policy to change this in the upcoming budget?
Comment on this
I will revert to Deputy Higgins with a note. The policy to which she referred is active. In the context of adding half a million people to State-funded GP care, it may be the case that there are some issues.