The Chief Executive Officer of the South Eastern Health Board officially opened the National Primary Care Unit Conference 2002 last Thursday (7^th March 2002).

Mr. John Cooney delivered the opening address at the beginning of the two-day conference, which was held in the Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny.

Speakers at the conference include Dr. Tony Holohan, Assistant Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health and Children, Ms. Maureen Flynn, Nursing Research Officer, Department of Health and Children, Mr. Peter Finnegan, Regional Manager, South Eastern Health Board, Mr. Chris Fitzgerald, Principal Officer, Department of Health and Children, Ms. Margaret O’Connor, Practice Nurse, Tralee, Mr. Bob Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer of South East Belfast Health and Social Services Trust, Mr. Matthew Lynch, Assistant Registrar, Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, Dr. Brian O’Mahony, Primary Care Doctor with the South Eastern Health Board, Prof. Colin Bradley, Mr. Peter Lennon, Director of GPIT Project, Ms. Kate Mulvenna, Primary Care Unit Pharmacist, North Eastern Health Board, and Dr. Cormac McNamara, Director of the Irish Medical Organisation Practice Development Programme.

Delegates attending the conference travelled from Primary Care units throughout the country and included doctors, practice nurses, primary care unit team members, health board personnel, pharmacists, and representatives from the Department of Health and Children and the GMS (Payments) Board.

The Chairman of the South Eastern Health Board, Dr. Jack Gallagher, delivered an after-dinner speech at the conference banquet on Thursday night. He said that primary care was a key component of the new Health Strategy and, with the launch of the national Primary Care Strategy, health boards were in a position to make great strides in primary care.

“The continuing development of primary care will provide an improving, more client focussed service to those people who need them,” he said. “There are innovative ways of working in place and much to be satisfied about in our present primary care system. In the South East, we are very proud of the development of Caredoc, the out-of-hours service that is now working in Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary and we are extending the service to parts of Waterford and Wexford.”

Dr. Gallagher also acknowledged that there were some serious issues facing all primary care services: “Demands are growing and the pace of change has been difficult,” he said. The Chairman added that the resistance of the primary care services to these growing pressures has been extraordinary.