Well done to Madeline Michael Padraic Susan Val and all at IMO on this and DMO breakthrough not forgetting Martin.
As part of the 2023 IMO GP Deal, agreement was reached with the HSE on the provision of a locum service for single handed rural General Practitioners in receipt of a Rural Practice Allowance. This was in response to concerns raised with the union by IMO members in rural and isolated areas that they were unable to secure a locum and take annual leave over the summer. Under this new arrangement the GP will still pay the cost of the locum but the HSE will guarantee the securing of the locum for the relevant dates. The costs associated with sourcing the locum will be borne by the HSE.
WHO DOES IT APPLY TO
The scheme will initially apply to single handed GPs in receipt of the Rural Practice Support Framework (Rural Practice Allowance).
WEBINAR
The IMO will hold a short 15 minute interactive webinar at 1pm on Thursday 15th May for single handed rural practitioners in receipt of an RPA.
INITIAL CONTACT
Single handed practitioners in receipt of an RPA will begin to be contacted by a team of Business relationship managers over the month of May. These are the same relationship managers you previously have dealt with in relation to vaccines. They will ask whether you are interested in availing of the service. You will then be asked of any prospective annual leave dates you have for the summer. Following confirmation of dates, a follow-up call will be made by the Agency who will confirm the locum for the relevant dates and the cost involved.
MINIMUM PERIOD
The minimum period of leave for which a locum may be secured is one week and may be up to two weeks. For shorter periods of leave (e.g. four days) then efforts will be made to source a locum but this cannot be guaranteed in such instances.
COST
GPs can claim the locum contribution annual leave rate (€1,380.65 per week) towards the cost of the locum. The actual cost of the locum will be confirmed to you by the Agency but will be competitive and at market rates. The agency sourcing costs will be borne by the HSE.
IMO TEAM
As always, your IMO Team are here to assist and support you and can be contacted on gpissues@imo.ie or by
phone on 01-676 72 73