Councillors seek HSE's assurance that Ballingarry's GP service won't be disrupted due to retirements

Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District’s elected members are seeking assurances from the HSE that there will be no disruption to Ballingarry’s GP service when the community’s two family doctors retire at the end of March.

The district’s councillors have agreed to Ballingarry Cllr Imelda Goldsboro’s proposal to write to the chief officer of the Community Health Organisation (CHO) area covering Ballingarry appealing for her community’s GP service to continue without disruption even if a new GP isn’t found by the time Dr John Curtin and Dr Margaret O’Riordan retire.

The Fianna Fáil councillor proposed sending the letter at Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District’s monthly meeting in Carrick-on-Suir Town Hall.

She told the meeting the retirement of Ballingarry’s two GPs was announced in early December and she wished them the best of luck in retirement.

The HSE was actively looking for replacement doctors but she wanted the district’s councillors to send a letter to the HSE to ensure the posts were filled as a matter of urgency.

And if the posts weren’t filled by the time the doctors retired, they requested a locum service be put in place to ensure there was no disruption.

The people of Ballingarry have benefitted from a locally-based GP practice throughout her life but Cllr Goldsboro noted the current difficulties with recruiting doctors in rural areas. They had seen the difficulties communities like Bansha and Ballymacarbry experienced.

Cllr Goldsboro pointed out that Ballingarry is a community with limited public transport services with an ageing population and its GP practice was also used by people from outside the parish.

Mullinahone Cllr Kevin O’Meara supported the sending of the letter to the HSE. He said it was an ongoing battle for rural communities to retain these services and argued that the GP service in Ballingarry saved local people from travelling to Kilkenny, Clonmel and Thurles to see their family doctor.

Cllr Mark Fitzgerald from Cloneen also spoke in support of ensuring Ballingarry’s GP service is not disrupted.

He said he was a member of the HSE’s South Regional Health Forum and raised the upcoming retirement of Ballingarry’s GPs at this Forum.

The latest update he had on replacing the two doctors was that the HSE couldn’t comment as it was going through the interview stage of the process and this was “still live”.

He said the HSE was hopeful of filling the positions and assured Forum members that it will continue Ballingarry’s GP surgery with a locum service until new doctors are in place.