NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS is to begin the fight of trying to keep its medical practice within the parish.
A public meeting is to be held at the Community Hall in the village of Newmarket-on-Fergus on Monday night commencing at 8pm.
From September, Carrigoran will no longer be available as a medical practice. It had been in operation for such a purpose since June 2020. The retirement of Dr Colum Hackett in May 2019 after forty two years working as Newmarket-on-Fergus’ GP led to Saffron and Blue Medical Centre receiving a contract from the HSE to provide a GP service from Carrigoran.
Question marks are now circulating on that contract with the service to conclude operating from Carrigoran this September.
In a statement to The Clare Echo, the Newmarket-on-Fergus Community Forum said it had been “informed that Carrigoran will not be available as a location for a medical practice from September 2023. The Forum is seeking the support of the people of Newmarket-on-Fergus , political representatives and the HSE to ensure a doctor continues to be located in Newmarket and preferably in the centre of the town. It is important that as many people as possible attend this meeting to show their support for the retention of a Doctor in Newmarket”.
Back in December 2019, an approximate 200 people attended a public meeting where the GP service was among the main items on the agenda along with the Garda presence in the area and the shortage of services in the village. It proved to be an election discussing point in advance of the 2020 General Election.
Local peace commissioner, David Griffin who is hopeful of receiving a nomination to contest the local elections next year as a Fianna Fáil candidate in the Shannon Municipal District said the vital GP service “must be protected”.
He stated, “There is huge fear and anxiety around the village and indeed the wider parish of Newmarket on Fergus regarding the uncertainty of the future provision of a GP in the area. As it stands, GP services are under immense pressure, not just in our area but nationally, and the loss of a local GP could have a huge impact”.
Griffin who hails from Stonehall in Newmarket-on-Fergus said he was hopeful a compromise would be met to protect the current GP service in the short-term. “It is vital, especially for our older residents that we do what we can to ensure that we hold onto our GP. This is not the first time that we have faced the loss of a GP in the area, and I think this again highlights the need for the HSE to put together a longer term plan for healthcare provision in Newmarket-on-Fergus. Our population is growing and will continue to grow, and we need to do everything we can, not just to solve the issue in the short term but in the medium and long term as well”.
