A major row is looming over fears that the Southern Health Trust are failing to deliver an adequate Out of Hours Service.
Rogers Calls On Southern Health Trust To Up Its Game Over Out Of Hours Service
South Down SDLP MLA Seán Rogers has spoken out as news breaks of huge gaps in the operating hours of Kilkeel Out of Hours Service.
Mr Rogers said: ”Anyone living in the Mourne area will know how hard we fought to secure an out of hour’s provision.
“A number of months ago I met with the then Chief Executive of the Southern Heath Trust and stressed my concern regarding reports of limited operating hours. At that stage I was advised that the Trust were facing very real human resources issues in terms of cover and when it came down to a choice of covering Newry as opposed to Kilkeel that the Trust had to prioritise Newry as the need there was greater. At that time, I voiced serious concern regarding this and asked for this to be reviewed.
“The people of Mourne feel isolated… isolated in terms of adverse weather and isolated in terms of our very limited infrastructure. This must be taken on board.
“In the short term and to bridge a gap, the Trust had mentioned recruiting Nurse Practitioners to assist at times when GP’s were unavailable. Whilst this is definitely not a long term solution it could potentially bridge the short term gap and allow for the facility to be open to the public.
“Local people need to know when the facility is opened, it can’t be operated on such an ad-hoc basis as confidence in the facility will diminish.
“If the Trust reimagined the Out of Hours structure in Kilkeel, it could be a model for future practice elsewhere and would allow for improved confidence in out of hours provision and reduce pressures on acute hospitals such as the ED at Daisy Hill.”
MP Urges Trust To Ensure Kilkeel Out of Hours GP Service Is Fully Accessible
Margaret Ritchie MP has also pitched her hat into the ring and v b-pllsaid: “I recently received information that the Out of Hours GP Service in Kilkeel has been closed 177 times out of 534 times in 2015 due to reduced medical cover.
“This is not an acceptable standard and the Southern Health Trust must ensure that a full, comprehensive and sustainable service is available for the people of Mourne.
“The ethos of the GP’s Out of Hours service is that it should be available for urgent medical problems. With services unavailable a third of the time, it is not fulfilling the standard expected. This in turn is putting increased pressure on other services as people who could be treated by their GP in the satellite centre in Kilkeel, are using A&E Departments or being forced to travel to Newry, Dungannon or Craigavon for a face to face assessment.
“I have made urgent representations to the Chief Executive of the Southern Trust to ensure there is a full complement of staff at Out of Hours GP Service in Kilkeel. This is by no means a criticism of the very hard working and dedicated GP’s who do work additional hours but rather the management of the Trust needs to ensure there are appropriate measures in place to cover annual leave, unexpected sickness and other emergencies which may leave the GP centre short staffed.
“The Mourne area is unique in its rural nature and much of the industry of this part of Down is agricultural or fishing. It is therefore imperative a full and accessible medical service is available to those who may require it. Local accessibility to services at the point of delivery is paramount.”
Trust Reply
The GP OOH statistics confirm that the Kilkeel base was in fact closed 177 times out of a possible 534 due to reduced medical cover. A Trust spokesperson said: “When this happens it is important to note that the Trust-wide OOH service is still available to the local community via telephone triage and home visits and over 50% of our calls are resolved with telephone advice. Base appointments also continue to be available although I appreciate this will be at another GP OOH’s facility.
“It is recognised regionally that there is a reduced pool of GP’s to provide both in hour and out of hours services. Ensuring there are available GP’s top work all OOH bases has been a significant challenge for the Trust for some time and despite our many efforts it has become increasingly difficult to fully stall all OOH shifts with GP’s. We are continuing to work with the Department of Health and the health and Social Care Board to try and improve this position.”
