Achill GP post vacant since 2020 to be advertised yet again

A GP position in Achill that has been vacant since 2020 is to be re-advertised again despite several unsuccessful attempts to fill the position.

The HSE has spent over €1.3 million on providing a locum doctor at a practice in Achill that was vacated in January 2021.

John Fitzmaurice, Chief Officer, Community Healthcare West, said the HSE would advertise the position again in a few months’.

Raising the matter at a meeting of HSE Forum West, Cllr Michael Kilcoyne said that employing an agency to staff the position was costing ‘a fortune’.

The only other vacant GP post in Mayo is in Charlestown, which has been vacant since 2021.

The HSE has been spending in the region of €25,000 per month providing locum doctors in Achill.

The Mayo News has asked the HSE for the exact figure spent to date on locum doctors in the area.

“We’ve run a couple of campaigns now and they haven’t had any success. We’ll await a period of time before we re-advertise again,” he said.

“There are steps being taken at a national level to increase the numbers of GPs coming into the country. But again, we just need to allow a period of time for that to evolve.”

Cllr Kilcoyne said that ‘special incentives’ should be put in place for positions, such as Achill, where the HSE is having difficulty filling positions.

Mr Fitzmaurice said Cllr Kilcoyne’s suggestion was ‘fair point’, adding that there were ‘special provisions being introduced specifically to reduce GP shortages in rural areas’.

The HSE is currently working on provisions to incentivise GPs to establish practices in rural areas.

The Rural Practice Incentive Scheme currently offers a stipend of up to €20,000 towards the running costs of GMS areas with a population equal or less than 2,000 people.

LAHARDANE GP

THE recent meeting of HSE Forum West also heard that the new GP in Lahardane has been employed ‘on a six month agency basis’.

Iraqi-born doctor Dr Amjed Ahmed recently took up a position in the North Mayo village after a long-running local campaign to have it reinstated.

Cllr Kilcoyne asked if this meant that his position was ‘not permanent’.

Mr Fitzmaurice said: “It’s initially on a six-month agency basis. But the expectation is that he’ll continue to develop his practice over that time.”

He added that Dr Ahmed will have the option to transfer to another practice before moving to assure Cllr Kilcoyne that ‘he’ll remain there as long as he continues to remain there’.

Rural Ireland Organisation leader Gerry Loftus has said Dr Ahmed would remain ‘for the long haul’ and has encouraged local patients to transfer to his practice to keep it viable.