EXCLUSIVE: HSE commits to provide space for Midoc in new Birr Primary Care Centre

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has made a commitment that space will be provided for an Out-Of-Hours GP service in a planned new Primary Healthcare Centre for Birr.

The promise was made in a written response to a parliamentary question, tabled by co-leader of the Social Democrats Roisin Shortall TD.

In April 2018, the town of Birr was left shocked by the sudden closure of the out of GP services in the town. A public meeting was then called to seek the restoration of the service, which closed as part of what Gps are calling a “realignment of the existing out of hours service, which is available in Tullamore.

Locals claimed there was no priort notification of the closure of the out-of-hour clinic in Birr and patients only found when they came to the clinic, which was in place since 2002.

According to the HSE at the time, an independent review of the Midoc services was undertaken in 2017, which "identified concerns in the areas of clinical risk, medical emergencies and lone worker".

"These concerns relate specifically to locum doctors on duty working with no clinical support, the ability to manage independently when presented with a medical emergency and the personal safety of the doctor while working alone in Birr and Edenderry."

For the over 18 months, local councillor, Clare Claffey has been lobbying for the reinstatement of an out of hours GP service in the town and made the request to Deputy Shortall, the Social Democrats' Health Spokesperson.

In a written response to Deputy Shortall’s question where she asked will space be provided in the primary care centre for an Out-Of-Hour GP Service, the Chief Officer of the HSE Pat Bennett said there are no plans at present to reverse the decision to remove Out-of-Hours GP services from Birr.

“However, there will be bookable consultation rooms in the new Primary Care Centre and if it is deemed feasible in the future for GP OOH to provide a service there, there will not be a physical infrastructural impediment to that happening.”
Responding to the commitment Cllr Clare Claffey said: “This is the first time since MIDOC was closed that we have received a commitment from the HSE that they will allow space for a future out of hours GP service in the new Primary Care Centre. This is hugely significant, as many of the concerns of the GPs running the service may well be addressed by the new centre, and it would have been tragic if a state of the art new primary care centre was built without consideration for the future needs of the people of Birr and surrounding communities.”

“ I have not stopped fighting for the reinstatement of the Midoc service in Birr, and I will not stop fighting until this vital community service is restored”.
Deputy Shortall’s Parliamentary Question also requested an update from the HSE on the status of the provision of a primary care centre in Birr, if the site selection process had been completed; the planned timeline for construction to begin; the facilities which will be available there.
The HSE's response to this acknowledges that discussions and plans for development of Primary Care Centre in Birr have been underway for many years. It is planned that the centre will incorporate primary care services, dental services, mental health community services and ancillary accommodation. The HSE stated that it was “disappointing” that in June 2018 An Bord Pleanala refused permission for building of a primary Care Centre at a location (known as the “Rugby Club site”) where there had been agreements between the HSE and local GPs.
Since then there was a public advertisement for interest from private developers, and discussion have been held between Offaly County Council and the HSE regarding the area knowns as the “Rectory lands”. The HSE response references the recent publication of the draft Offaly County Development Plan, and states “The HSE is keen to allow time for this statutory process to conclude – the deadline for submissions is the 7th October 2020 with the plan completed by Autumn 2021”. The letter states that the HSE is “not in position to provide any further update on timelines.”
Responding to this, Cllr Clare Claffey stated: “I am very disappointed at the lack of progress and shocked at the lack of initiative taken by the HSE in the provision of this vital community service. It is simply unacceptable that the HSE appears to suggest they will not make any further progress with this until the conclusion of the County Development Plan more than a year from now. While I will be making a submission on the draft County Development Plan, with my colleagues in the Social Democrats Laois Offaly Branch, I have to emphasise that the people of Birr are crying out for a modern Primary Care Centre now – the GPs services are already under serious pressure and who knows how many more GPs we will lose before Autumn 2021.”

“A new primary care centre could attract GPs to fill the vacant positions in Birr and having our full complement of GPS could help in the restoration of our out of hours service. I am calling on the HSE to place more urgency on the development of this centre, and on improving the delivery of primary healthcare in Birr, both during office hours and also Out-of-Hours.”
Claffey’s petition to restore Midoc to Birr, started in advance of the local elections in 2019, amassed over 2,500 signatures, and was delivered to then Minister for Health Simon Harris in the Dáil in April 2019.

Claffey said “I will be contacting the new Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly in the coming weeks to ensure he is aware of the strength of feeling on this issue, and to ask for his support. We have all become increasingly aware in recent months of the vital importance of local GP services, and how they desperately need our support. I’m pledging to continue this support into the future, and I will not stop fighting until we have a primary care centre in Birr that we can all be proud of with a functioning Out of Hours GP service attached.”