Minister for Health Simon Harris has been asked to intervene after the sudden closure of two out-of-hour GP services in the midlands, leaving over 20,000 people without emergency access to a local doctor service in Co Offaly.
The move follows the unexpected closure of the local Midoc service in the towns of Birr and Edenderry.
A public meeting has been called for tonight to seek the restoration of the service which closed as part of what GPs are calling a "realignment of the existing out of hours service" which is available in Tullamore.
Locals claim there was no prior notification of the closure of the out-of-hour doctor clinics in Birr or Edenderry and patients only found out when they came to the clinics which have been in place since 2002.
According to the HSE, an independent review of the Midoc services was undertaken in 2017, which "identified concerns in the areas of clinical risk, medical emergencies and lone worker".
"These concerns relate specifically to locum doctors on duty working with no clinical support, the ability to manage independently when presented with a medical emergency and the personal safety of the doctor while working alone in Birr and Edenderry."
According to the HSE, the participating GPs in conjunction with the GPs therefore took the decision to close the two satellite part-time cells.
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Dr Jerry O'Flynn, a spokesperson for the GPs who run the service, told RTÉ News that a private HSE review of safety and medical issues surrounding the two clinics had taken place and concern had been expressed about the lone nature of the service provided by individual GPs in each area.
He added that the growing problem of a shortage of doctors in rural communities was a major contributor to the problem.
