A pregnant woman in Donegal could not be seen in hospital due to a lack of GPs in her locality, the Dáil has heard.
The woman, who was in distress, was told she needed a GP referral in order to be seen by a doctor in the maternity departments in Sligo or Letterkenny.
However, she could not find a GP practice in her area of south Donegal to accept her as a patient.
“GP practice after GP practice in south Donegal told her the same thing. They were full, at capacity, and could not add her to their books,” said Pearse Doherty TD, as he outlined the case yesterday.
“A pregnant woman could not be seen in a hospital. It is a truly shocking state of affairs which speaks to the pressure local health services are under.”
Deputy Doherty said that after contacting the HSE and after a long wait, the lady in question thankfully now has access to a GP.
“But that problem should not have arisen. We are talking about the year 2024,” he said.
Deputy Doherty was speaking during a motion tabled by Sinn Féin calling on the Minister for Health to intervene and relieve pressure on local GP and community health services.
“A lack of alternative and primary care options in our communities feeds through the entire healthcare system. It adds pressure to the emergency departments in our hospitals and ultimately leads to longer lists and waiting times for patients and difficult conditions for healthcare staff,” Deputy Doherty said.
He added: “As a rich country with billions of euro of surpluses, we are coming up short time and again on the basics, such as access to a local GP. Our communities deserve much better and Sinn Féin has a plan to improve our health service. We have practical and realistic goals that can be delivered.”
