A SMALL group of pro-life campaigners stood at the entrance to a Killarney hotel this Saturday where Health Minister, Simon Harris, was due to arrive to address doctors at the Irish Medical Organisation annual conference.
The group congregated at the entrance gates to the Hotel Europe in Fossa with placards featuring a picture of a foetus asking ‘Will you vote to kill me at 12 weeks?’
The campaigners remained at the gates for a number of hours but their protest was peaceful and there were no incidents reported.
Meanwhile, inside at the conference the burning issue was GP pay with doctors furious over the scale of cuts imposed during the period of austerity. The IMO reported medical card cuts of almost 38% per cent and GPs want the pay restored without a pre-condition of agreeing to new GP contracts with the department.
Doctors have also called for 7,000 extra hospital beds to be made available to meet patient demand and to attempt to tackle the crisis in hospital casualty departments.
Minister Harris said earlier that he was in favour of talks that would be backed up by real and meaningful additional resources for general practice.
The advent of online GP medical services also came under the microscope at the conference with a motion asking for a review of safety of video telemedicine consultations.
The motion requested that medical indemnifiers be asked to examine the situation that currently exists and to issue recommendations and advisory notices to GPs.
With several patients complaining that gaining access to GP services is proving extremely difficult which, in turn, is putting more pressure on hospital accident and emergency units, online GP services have been offered as a viable alternative.
KillarneyToday.com reported last week that the health service in Kerry is under extreme pressure with reports of 12 hour waits in A&E and many patients upset that they were unable to secure same-day appointments with their family doctor.
Those promoting instant access online GP consultations were quick to highlight the advantages of the service which can ensure patients are seen in a matter of minutes thus shortening GP waiting lists and relieving the strain on A&E departments.
For a set fee, as little as €20 in some instances, patients can access the service without the need to make an appointment and if prescription is required, it can be sent to a pharmacist of the patient’s choosing for collection.
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