Dozens turn out to public meeting about rural GP service

The strength of public conviction and the level of concern within West Cavan communities over the potential threat to GP services in the village of Swanlinbar was embodied by the strong turnout at a public meeting last Sunday.

Several hundred packed St Mary’s Hall in the centre of the village to listen to what is being proposed for the medical service, which has been in a state of flux since the retirement of the last permanent GP in late 2020. Since then the healthcare of locals has been catered for by a resident locum, but that contract is set to expire at the end of the month.

Dr Cristian Cimpoeru has been a locum GP in Swanlinbar Health Centre for almost three years since the retirement of Doctors Jacqueline Ellis-Deering and Kevin Deering.

Speaking to those in attendance, Greg McGovern said it was only “by chance” that the village found out that Dr Christian’s contract hasn’t been renewed since November last.

“He’s working here at the moment and hasn’t been paid for what he’s doing. But sure that’s what the HSE has done. They’ve decided in their wisdom that his contract is up on the 28th of February and, at that stage, he will have no employment, and the practice will be provided by Ballyconnell and they will provide a doctor on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and possibly an hour on other days if they deem necessary. That’s the situation as it is.”

He said that the village is fully supportive of Dr Christian being retained and given permanancy, and a committee has been established to set out a chain of demands that includes a five-day service in the clinic and 24/7 cover if possible.

“That’s what we want, and that’s what we want our politicians to take away. If deemed necessary and not forthcoming, we have to decide what are we prepared to do to get that,” said Mr McGovern.

The concerned local told the meeting that the change is yet another chip away at the fabric of rural Ireland. “We feel maybe people are trying to centralise everything in rural Ireland. We lost the Post office, the Garda Station, banks and now health practice.”

Local Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith, who last week raised the village’s plight in the Dáil, meanwhile stated that at the time of the Deerings’ retirement he highlighted then the “need to appoint” a locum to the area.

“They agreed to advertise for a permanent GP, what the HSE have continually said to me, I’m just repeating what they’re saying; their advertisement engagement and their efforts to recruit a permanent GP weren’t successful due to lack of interest and availability.”

Deputy Smith went on to say that there has been “a hard fight at times” to ensure the locum services continue “not just to rural communities but even to the urban and more populated areas as well. In some instances, unfortunately those communities their GMS were divided between neighbouring communities. We convinced the HSE to continue advertising but now we are in the position were there is no permanent GP.”

He said he was “shocked” by the HSE’s treatment of Dr Christian who he said has provided a “great service” to the community.

“I’ve been in regular contact with the HSE apart from raising the matter in the Dáil, to senior people in the HSE, to the Minister for Health and senior officials at the Department of Health and one of the issues that we’re referring was, if you take west Cavan area over the years, we have a configuration of primary care services, a doctor in Blacklion, a doctor in Swanlinbar, and a doctor in Ballyconnell. I empathise strongly that configuration must remain with permanent practice here.”