Westdoc responds to Mayo emergency calls 'within 45 minutes' - report

An average of over 33,000 calls per annum have been received by the Westdoc service in Mayo, Galway and Roscommon since 2019.

The information has been furnished to Mayo Councillor Michael Kilcoyne on foot of a series of questions submitted to the HSE West Forum, of which he is an elected member.

A total of 36,342 calls were received in 2019, up to 29,883 in 2020 and exactly 33,222 during 2021.

The cost of providing the service for Mayo, Galway and Roscommon during the period in question was €3.9 million (2019), €3.9 million (2022) and €4.02 million (2021) - almost €12 million over a three-year period.

The HSE said it was not possible to give an individual breakdown of costs per county.

The average response times for patients was within 45 minutes in the event of an emergency, within 90 minutes for urgent cases, and within five hours for routine.

The longest a patient had to wait to be seen by a doctor was five hours in respect of an non-urgent matter, the report stated.

There were 1,324 home visits in 2019; a total of 743 in 2020 and 588 last year.

A total of 22,878 patients attended a Westdoc clinic in 2019, 10,676 did in 2020 and 8,551 last year.

Westdoc operates a total of seven clinics in Mayo and they are located in Ballinrobe, Westport, Castlebar, Ballina, Knock, Achill and Belmullet.

A total of 88 GPs are involved in the service and the number of locums varies.

All requests by patients to be seen by a doctor is based on clinical needs, the report stated.

Councillor Kilcoyne is expected to issue a statement after closely examining the details.