The Minister for Health Dr James Reilly TD has announced plans to recruit over 270 new staff to work in Primary Care. The new staff will be funded via a special allocation of €20m, set aside as part of the HSE’s 2012 National Service Plan to fill posts in Primary Care.
The funding will provide for the employment of 17 Clinical Nurse Specialists to support the Integrated Care Diabetes Programme and 255 additional Primary Care Team posts, including Public Health Nurses, Registered General Nurses, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists.
The HSE has analysed the current provision of posts in proportion to total population and population health needs with reference to the Haase-Pratschke Deprivation Index to identify which areas are least well served. The Primary Care posts will be allocated to the areas most in need, taking into account the Deprivation index and other key criteria such as the size and composition of relevant waiting lists and the resources available in other health facilities within the individual areas.
Minister Reilly said that “at a time of scarce national resources, it is essential that such posts should be targeted at areas of greatest need”. The Minister added: “The recruitment of additional staff to Primary Care Teams will be instrumental in creating an environment which enables structured approaches to chronic disease management, enhanced multi-disciplinary team working, and the integration of services between primary and secondary care”.
Primary care facilities will be developed at twenty locations
Additionally, it has been announced today that that primary care facilities will be developed at 20 locations across the country using the public private partnership mechanism as part of the Governments new stimulus package announced by the Government today.
Minister for Health said that the primary care infrastructure model “offers a good fit for public private partnership financing”. The new stimulus package, he added, “will underpin progress to date and provide a much needed jobs boost. This PPP initiative will complement and build on the processes HSE has already in place in its capital programme.”
Below is a list of 35 locations, of which, 20 will be commissioned subject to agreement between the local GPs and the HSE on active local GP involvement in the centres. The twenty will be offered to the market in bundles of ten. A further list of Primary Care developments will be announced in Quarter 4, 2012.
Balbriggan
Ballaghadereen
Ballymote, Co Sligo
Boyle, Co Roscommon
Carrickmacross
Carrick-on-Suir
Claremorris
Clonmel
Coolock
Cork City (Togher)
Crumlin/Drimnagh
Darndale
Donegal Town
Drogheda North
Dublin Inner City (Summerhill)
Dungarvan
Dungloe, Co Donegal
Ennis
Gort
Kells
Kilcock
Kilkenny
Knocklyon/Rathfarnham
Laytown/Bettystown
Limerick City
Rathdrum, Co Wicklow
Rowlagh/North Clondalkin
Swords
Thurles
Tralee
Tuam
Tullow/Rathvilly (East Carlow)
Waterford City
Westport
Wexford Town