Calls for weekend GP rota to be restored as patients suffer
Patients are left frustrated by long delays to see a West Doc doctor.
There are fresh calls for a weekend rota for GPs to return.
Local election candidate Harry Barrett believes people are fed up with how long it takes to be seen by the West Doc service at the weekend and are forced to attend Mayo University Hospital instead.
"I have been asked many times on the canvass to call for the return of the doctors' weekend rota system that we had in Castlebar 20 years ago," said Mr Barrett.
He said the current service is "swamped".
"Time and time again, I am hearing stories from people who are totally unhappy with the weekend medical cover. They tell me that after 5.30pm on a Friday, they are reliant on a Westdoc service that is swamped and as a result, sick children and the elderly are forced to go to hospital to get seen," Mr Barrett added.
Mr Barrett believes more GPs are needed in order to restore the old system. He said medical cover at present is not sufficient.
"The Castlebar area needs at least three new GPs to allow the return of the weekend rota system that was in operation 20 years ago in this town. The current medical cover at the weekend is not good enough. Expecting sick elderly patients to have to travel to Westport at the weekend, sometimes late at night to access Westdoc is not proper medical care in 2024," he commented.
