Barriers to Access and Utilisation of GP Out-of-Hours for Older People

Background

For older people to remain living at home, access to GP services outside office hours is essential. Consultation with older residents in two counties in Ireland, highlighted the out-of-hours GP service as an area of concern for those hoping to stay living in their own home for longer. Against a background of active multi-stakeholder engagement in supporting age-friendly communities, this research examines the barriers to accessing and using GP Out-of-Hours for older people.

Method

A mixed method approach was used in the research, including questionnaires, focus groups with older people, over age sixty-five, (n = 48) and examination of call data (n = 771 calls) from the GP Out-of-Hours provider. The aim was to identify the issues arising for older people should they become sick outside office hours and how these impact access to and use of the service.

Results

The findings of this research are that multiple interlinked challenges face older people in the community which mitigate against their ability to use GP Out-of-Hours. The main priority for older people is speed of access to care but barriers encountered include a lack of information, location of treatment centres, the admission process, transportation, availability of a social network to support access and concerns about being treated dismissively. Providers also face challenges with limited resources, GP shortages and service fragmentation to meet cost efficiencies.

Conclusion

It is concluded that addressing the challenges of access and use for older people will require sensitivity to the challenges of provision and will necessitate a comprehensive approach involving all the community stakeholders engaged in supporting the regional and national age-friendly agenda.