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Dr Gary Stack.

Above: Dr Gary Stack.
 

 
KILLARNEY GP Dr Gary Stack has backed calls for a primary care Cabinet Minister. The second of three public meetings on health reform took place last night hosted by the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP). The meeting successfully brought the general public, patient organisations, TDs, and healthcare professionals together to discuss health reform and a proposed 10-year consensus on health.

A panel of expert speakers on health volunteered their time to put forward their opinions and suggestions for a reform of healthcare in Ireland.

Taking place in the Clayton Silver Springs Hotel, Cork and chaired by Ms Susan Mitchell, Health Editor, Sunday Business Post, speakers included Dr Gary Stack, general practitioner, Killarney, and medical director of South Doc; Mr Kieran Ryan, chief executive of the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP); and Dr Jennifer Carroll, consultant physician, Cork University Hospital.

All speakers agreed that change must be driven by GP-led primary care. A variety of speakers from the floor ensured a lively debate on the key issues with input from patients, healthcare professionals, TDs, and patient representative groups.

At the meeting, Dr Gary Stack called for a “Tallaght Strategy for Health” which would take the politics out of the national healthcare system and ensure a 10-year plan with consensus across healthcare providers. Such a consensus can only be achieved by involving all the political parties, representative bodies, patients and stakeholders, to create a plan for health that is independent of the electoral cycle and has a reasonable time frame to succeed. He backed the call for a Cabinet Minister for Primary Care which would be necessary to drive change.

The NAGP’s series of public meetings continue with a meeting in the Strand Hotel, Limerick at 7.30pm on Monday, April, 25. The general public, healthcare professionals, patient groups and stakeholders are urged to attend to put forward their opinions on health reform.