Calls for extension of MIDOC service in Laois
Calls to expand the opening hours at MIDOC, Portlaoise
Calls are being made on the HSE to expand the opening hours of the MIDOC service in Laois.
Currently, the out-of-hours medical service, which is located in Portlaoise, is open throughout the night and at weekends (118 hours per week). This means that MIDOC is already covering 70% of the hours medical service each week.
Deputy Seán Fleming is now asking the HSE to provide staffing for the MIDOC service during regular business hours, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, which would represent an increase of 50 hours a week.
In a statement, Mr Fleming said: “Everybody knows it is extremely difficult, if not almost impossible, to get onto a GP list in the Portlaoise area. Many people have exhausted themselves trying to get a GP in Portlaoise and surrounding areas. The population of Portlaoise is growing on an ongoing basis and the HSE have not provided an appropriate suitable service to cover this.” In conclusion, Mr Fleming made the case that it was in the broader interests of the HSE to provide this service, as otherwise many people would go straight to A&E instead, who could have been seen locally by a readily accessible doctor’s appointment.
