There Are More Efficient Ways to Running the Caredoc Service

I will make no secret of the fact that I have begun to enjoy listening to Déise Today once more on WLR.fm of late. For many year’s while the late Billy McCarthy presented the show I seldom missed the show each day between 10am and 12 noon and often tuned in again for the re-run after the mid night news up to between 1-30am and 2am to listen again to a debate that I would have found interesting when the programme went out live or maybe to catch something that I might have missed first time around.

I and I know many others after Billy’s death lost interest in the programme slot as under the guidance of new presenter Eamonn Keane the show took a different direction as to what Billy would have presented the programme or indeed Billy’s stand in Maria McCann.

I will admit that I was never a fan of Eamonn’s when he presented on NewsTalk and was even less a fan when he joined WLR. And when before Christmas Eamonn announced that he was leaving WLR for pastures new, or at least to devote more time to other things that he did in his life and Damien Tiernan announced that he was leaving RTE, I felt that he would be a brilliant replacement if the job was not going to be given to someone already working within the Broadcasting Centre.

In the weeks and months since Damien has taken over the microphone at the Broadcasting Centre between 10am and Noon I am starting to enjoy the show once more.

This morning Damien was missing from the slot but the Brilliant Maria McCann who I think is an outstanding presenter especially of what some might call easy going programming was there in his place and had some very interesting slots.

I paid particular attention to the interview that Maria had with a lady from Ballyduff Upper who had reason to call Caredoc for a child that had a high temperature, but she had severe problems in trying to get her call answered at Caredoc’s base in Carlow.

I have in the past suggested a different way of dealing with calls to the out of hours Doctor Service in the South East and will repeat the call now.

I like the lady that was on Deise Today this morning in the past have had reason on many occasions to phone Care Doc and have found it very hard to get an answer at the base, even when I ring shortly after 6pm when we are lead to believe that the Caredoc service starts, and have often found it that the phone is answered quicker later in the evening.

Like the woman on the Radio this morning talking to Maria McCann I have often got an automated message played every two or three minutes telling me that the centre is experiencing a high level of calls and that I am in a cue.

While I would never suggest that the centre would not be getting a high level of calls each evening and over the weekends I find it somewhat strange that so many people ringing the service find it difficult to get through.

I for one have thought to myself is there a better way of dealing with answering the calls and I believe there is.

How many times have you rang a bank, a hospital, the council etc and you get a message telling you to press 1, 2 or 3 etc for the different departments and once you press the relevant number you get through to someone in the department you want to speak to.

Could the same happen when you contact Caredoc. In the South East Region could we have a system whereby you press 1 for County Carlow, 2 for Carlow, 3 for Tipperary, 4 for Waterford, 5 for Wexford and 6 for Wicklow which while not in the South East is in the Caredoc group of counties. The numbers 1 to 6 are assigned to counties written alphabetically.

After press a number from 1 to 6 you would be asked to press a number once more to get through to the centre that you require to visit.

For County Carlow and County Kilkenny because there is only one centre in each county I.E. Carlow Town and Kilkenny City you automatically get through to these centres but for

For County Tipperary: 1 for Cashel, 2 for Clonmel, 3 for Tipperary Town,

For County Waterford: 1 for Dungarvan, 2 for Waterford City,

For County Wexford: 1 for Enniscorthy, 2 for Gorey, 3 for New Ross, 4 for Wexford Town,

For County Wicklow: 1 for Arklow 2 for Wicklow Town

By pressing the relevant number the second time out you get through to that centre and get to speak with a nurse based at that centre, who would have a better idea of any delays which are happening and advise people who ring up as to what time they should call. At present while those in the centre in Carlow are doing their best, they cannot know of delays that are happening in Clonmel, Dungarvan, Waterford City, New Ross etc unless they are informed by the centre.

I believe that if there was a system like this in place it would have made it easier for the likes of the lady on Déise Today this morning to get her sick child to see a Doctor when she needed one.

You don’t need me to tell you that in the next month we will have local elections take place in the country, and I know that some of those standing in the different areas of Waterford from time to time check what I have to say on here, or at least are getting feedback from others that are reading what I have to say.

Therefore can I suggest that any councillor that is looking for a vote or anyone standing who is not at present a councillor might make a pledge to work for changes to be made in the way calls to the Caredoc Service are answered. I don’t think it would take a great deal of money to set up such a service and whatever extra it might cost to run the service would be seen as money well spent by the people of the South East region who use the Caredoc service.