A health board in the eastern region is continuing to pay a GP to look after five dead patients, even though the doctor asked the board three months ago to stop the payments.
The GP, Dr Michael Fay, said yesterday that the failure of the South Western Area Health Board to respond to his request was "typical of inefficiencies in the system".
He told the annual general meeting of the Association of GPs in Sligo that he informed the health board in July that five of his medical card patients, for which doctors get a monthly capitation allowance, had died. However, when he got a print-out of the patients he was being paid for last week it showed he was still being paid for them.
The revelation will prove embarrassing for the health board, coming several months after health board chief executives were grilled by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee for not putting more rigorous checks in place to prevent the overpayment of an estimated €8 million to GPs in respect of so-called "ghost" patients.
Dr Fay said the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, would be better off trying to sort out inefficiencies in the health board sector than "attacking the doctors and blaming them".
He also criticised Prof Niamh Brennan, who chaired the group which compiled the Brennan report on financial management in the health service, for recently accusing doctors who refused to pay back money that they were allegedly overpaid of being guilty of fraud. He claimed that she didn't know what she was talking about.
A spokesman for the South Western Area Health Board said last evening that the board would be following up on Dr Fay's comments and contacting him immediately "to clarify the details and to make whatever adjustments to the system that may arise".