Number Six has said that, in its latest statement on the Primary Care Centre, the GSD seems to have given up on being in government any time soon, saying it will monitor the new appointment system after the 1st of January adding that this “will presumably from the Opposition benches!”

A statement continues: “The GSD seems not to have read the latest Government Press Release on the matter last week where it was made clear that the “first of the month” system was introduced in October 2012 as an improvement to the much worse “first of the quarter” system that the GSD had itself introduced. That had led to even greater problems as appointments could only be given on one day every three months, resulting in many lost appointments as people forgot or had got better in the time elapsed.

“The GSD has NOT been fighting for change in this at all. In fact in November 2012 the then Opposition Spokesperson for Health, speaking in Parliament, congratulated the GHA for the change! They have been very quiet since and it is only now that the election is approaching that they have remembered the subject.

“In sharp contrast, the GHA and the Minister for Health have been working with the staff continuously reviewing the system and considering and implementing improvements, including an increase of the equivalent of no fewer than five and a half doctors. Unlike the pre-2012 situation, the professionals developing the changes are allowed to work freely and they do not work to electoral timetables. It is an insult to them to suggest that they do.”

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