Patient Care is our priority and we strongly believe that the current proposals are not the best way forward to effectively improve this

Carole McIlrath RCN

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Carole McIlrath, Primary Care Facilitator with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the organisation was "extremely disappointed" their recommendations for primary care had not been taken on board.

"The RCN fully supports reform in the system for primary care and welcomes the potential innovations that could come out of the Local Health & Social Care Groups.

"We cannot, however, support the fact that what was meant to be a "bottom-up approach" is now going to add yet another layer of bureaucracy to an already top-heavy system.

"Patient Care is our priority and we strongly believe that the current proposals are not the best way forward to effectively improve this.

Dr Brian Patterson, Chairman of the British Mecial Association's GPs Committee in the province also criticised the minister's plans for primary care development.

'Detrimental changes'

"The BMA is totally in support of the development of local multi-disciplinary groups with the potential of employing people at grass roots level to determine the delivery of the service locally," he said.

"However, the Local Health & Social Care Groups, as structured from the first of April, are not going to achieve this."

Breedagh Hughes, Northern Ireland Board Secretary for the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), said her organisation was very concerned at the total lack of recognition given to midwives as primary care practitioners.

"Most women, nowadays, spend only one or two days of a pregnancy in hospital, with the remainder of their care being provided by midwives working in the primary care sector," she said.

The conference followed a meeting with the Stormont Health Committee on Wednesday where the RCN, the BMA NI and the RCM presented their opposition to the recommended changes.

Speaking after the meeting, the health professionals said they believed it was important that the general public be made fully aware of the "detrimental changes" about to be made to primary care services.