South Doc

JP Liz

Source The Corkman

IT may be harder to get a doctor than a vet in Duhallow, according to community leader Jack Roche, who this week called for a new out of hours GP service in the area to replace South Doc.
Mr Roche's call came as a Duhallowbased staff member at South Doc issued a warning to local people that services have been cut.
South Doc driver Diarmuid Cronin said people in Duhallow will no longer be able to access a doctor locally in Kanturk after 11pm, reducing the service by an hour. Services will be transferred to Mallow after 11pm, making the journey for doctors much longer.
Hours for staff including nurses, receptionists and drivers have also been reduced in a cost cutting measure.
South Doc services in Mallow, meanwhile, continue on a 24-hour basis.
Mr Cronin, said that people's chances of surviving a sudden major health scare are now at risk of being reduced due to lack of resources. He pointed out that it could take a doctor an hour and half to reach Rockchapel.
Currently, The Corkman understands, 15 GPs cover Duhallow on a rota basis, a number that has been described as inadequate.
"People need to realise that if they do not feel 100% they should not take a chance, they should ring South Doc before 11pm. The people we are living among need the service, we would rather see their chances of life improved rather than disimproved. The doctors in Duhallow are already fairly well stretched," said Mr Cronin.
This week, Mr Jack Roche, a stalwart community leader in Duhallow, called for a letter of opposition to be sent to Minister for Health Mary Harney. Mr Roche is calling for a service catering only for Duhallow, called Duhallow Doc.
"In an emergency situation it is important that a doctor is close at hand. It is harder to get a doctor than a vet in Duhallow," said Mr Roche.
"People may pass away waiting for South Doc — now, I am not saying that could be due to a delay, but the quicker a doctor is there, the better," he added.
In a new IRD Duhallow report on the needs of older people in Duhallow, a survey on the opinions and needs of more than a 100 local elderly people found that there is a 'general mistrust' towards South Doc. The report claimed the average distance to a GP for participants was six to ten miles, although there were a few people with considerably longer distances to travel.
The predominant issue revealed in the report in terms of GPs was the decline in doctors making house calls and the lack of out of hours services.
This week, the HSE said it has funded South Doc to provide the same level of service in 2008 as in 2007. "The 2008 Service Level Agreement allocates a level of funding which facilitates a continuation of the level of those services provided in 2007 and previous years," said a spokesperson.
Meanwhile, in Macroom, a local petition is gathering pace as political representatives in the area fight recent cutbacks in the South Doc services in Mid Cork.
The Corkman failed to get a comment from South Doc management before going to press.

Disgraceful :mad: