A motion expected to be ratified at the upcoming AGM of the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) to change the Association’s constitution will allow the body to negotiate immediately with the Department of Health on behalf of Irish GPs, its CEO has said.

The findings of Prof Frank Keane’s expert panel on extending medical card coverage have met with IMO approval, IMT reports.

The IMO has met with HSE officials to discuss concerns over preparations for dealing with suspected cases of Ebola and has stressed the need to establish sufficiently robust protocols for suspected cases in an emergency department setting.

The Ebola virus has been ruled out for a patient who had been considered a low risk for the disease, the HSE announced last Monday (October 20).

The HPSC has provided up-to-date advice on managing Ebola for GPs on its website www.

Healthmail, which is currently being tested by 23 GPs, will go live on November 10, the ICGP has said.

Hawkins House has described a recent meeting the Minister for Health and the Minister of State with responsibility for primary care held with representatives from the ICGP as “useful”, Irish Medical Times reports.

The Netherlands has seen a strong tendency towards concentration in the insurance policy market and at present, four concerns have a collective market share of about 90 per cent, a hospitals’ conference in Westport has heard.

Among the measures announced as part of Budget 2015, there will be an extension of BreastCheck to women up to age 69 years, and an enhancement of Mental Health Teams.

Further substantial policy work is needed now on how precisely to frame hospital Groups policy to the best advantage of patients and services, the Deputy Secretary General at the Department of Health, Dr Fergal Lynch has said.