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SEA says GP cutbacks will increase illness

Saturday 8th August 2004

  Proposals to cut the provision of out-of-hours GP services entirely on the cityside have been condemned by the Socialist Environmental Alliance as "likely to further increase levels of ill-health related to poverty in the town".

SEA spokesperson, Colm Bryce, says "the Western H&SSB is using new GP contracts as an excuse for cutbacks. The real issue about its proposal to locate a single service for the entire city in the grounds of Altnagelvin Hospital is not whether Altnagelvin can cope", says Mr. Bryce. "It's about how anyone without a car or the price of a taxi will be able to access a doctor outside of normal surgery hours.

"There is a real question mark", says Mr. Bryce "about how people living on low incomes are supposed to get to Altnagelvin?

"We know from research into inequalities in health in Northern Ireland that families living in deprived areas suffer already because they are more likely to live further away from their GP's surgery and less likely to have a car to get there."

"For the many people who live in areas like Shantallow, getting to Altnagelvin is a nightmare without a car. It means at least two bus journeys or a taxi journey which can cost up to £10 for a round trip.

Mr. Bryce says the SEA will be getting on the streets over the coming weeks, encouraging loud opposition to the proposed cutbacks. "We have had enough cutbacks in our health service", he says. "This one must be stopped."





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