Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2020
656. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of directly employing an additional 500 HSE general practitioners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4736/20]
View answerGeneral Practitioners are self-employed private practitioners, most of whom have contracts with the HSE to provide services under various public health schemes.
Under the General Medical Services (GMS) contract, GPs are reimbursed for a range of services they provide to medical card and GP visit card holders. GPs are remunerated for these services primarily on a capitation basis, with a range of additional support payments and fees for specific items of service.
As there is currently no approved salary scale in the public service for a GP post, it is not possible to quantify the financial implications for the HSE of additional GPs being hired to provide services to the public health system under the GMS and other schemes.
