A Carrickmacross councillor says he "can't believe" the lack of GP provision locally.
A group of Carrickmacross GPs recently penned a letter saying "the town has a need for more GPs to service the needs of an increasing, older, and more culturally diverse population".
At a recent Carrickmacross-Castleblayney MD meeting, Councillor Noel Keelan said the number of GPs in Carrickmacross is "not sustainable"
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, in a letter to the MD, said "a number of measures have been undertaken to increase the number of GPs".
However, Cllr Keelan said this "isn't credible" and noted the recent announcement that NEDOC is set to implement a reduced service where out-of-hours care on a face-to-face basis will only be provided until 10.30 pm on weekdays, and 10 pm at weekends.
Cllr Keelan said he could not believe this and asked what will people needing care do after these times.
Meanwhile, Cllr Colm Carthy said the "HSE has a lot to answer for" and added that the closure of the Navan ED and a cut to NEDOC services were "very worrying developments".
In Minister Donnelly's letter to the MD, he wrote that "there is no prescribed ratio of GPs to patients".
Cllr Carthy noted recent census figures, and said it was "ironic" that we need more TDs to represent people based on the latest figures, "but there is no provision for minimum number of doctors to population".
Elsewhere, Cllr PJ O'Hanlon called for local TDs to sit down with councillors on this issue and "come back to us with actual information" instead of the national figures that were quoted in the Health Minister's response.
He also called for this to meeting to take place before the Summer recess.
