€10m deal to boost payments for rural GPs

The number of GPs qualifying for rural allowances is to double to more than 300 under a series of significant pay concessions agreed between doctors and the Department of Health.

The €10 million deal on rural GP allowances was arrived at days before Government TDs in Clare and Mayo, including Taoiseach Enda Kenny, face strong electoral challenges from two rural doctor candidates.

Pay increases for student nurses aimed at stemming the flow of newly qualified staff overseas have also been approved by the Government. Pay for final-year student nurses will rise by up to €3 an hour for the period they spend working in hospitals or in a clinical setting.

Coincidental

Government sources described the timing of the announcements as coincidental.

Under the agreement with the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), due to start on May 1st, the rural practice allowance will increase to €20,000, from the current rate of €16,216.

An additional 165 GPs will qualify for rural practice supports, in addition to the 167 doctors currently receiving the rural practice allowance, it is estimated.

The framework will be extended to partnership and group practices and will no longer be restricted to single-handed doctors only.

Current allowance holders who do not meet the new criteria will continue to receive the payment until retirement.

Restrictions requiring doctors to live in a centre have also been removed and GPs can now live within a reasonable distance of their place of work.

Special items

The agreement provides for big increases in the payments for “special items of service”. Doctors will be paid €50 for suturing, up from €24.80, and €60 for bladder catheterisation, compared to the current rate of €37.21.

New items of service are also being introduced such as a fee of €60 for 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The agreement, subject to approval by the Department of Public Expenditure, is the first item to be dealt with under wider talks with the IMO on a new GP contract.

The IMO said the agreement represented a significant improvement on a deal offered last month.