David Cullinane
Question:806. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health his plans for the public provision of general practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36859/20]
View answerTuesday, 17 November 2020
Questions (806)
Written answers
General Practitioners are self-employed private practitioners, most of whom have contracts with the HSE to provide services under various public health schemes. There are no plans at present to directly employ general practitioners. The 2019 GP Agreement includes a commitment to undertake a strategic review of GP services within the lifetime of the Agreement, to examine how best to ensure the provision of GP services in Ireland for the future. The outcome of this review will inform future contractual changes, with preparatory work for the review having begun this year.
As reflected in the Programme for Government, the Government is committed to increasing access to GP services on a public basis, by extending GP care without charges to more children; an important healthcare measure that will remove a potentially prohibitive cost barrier to accessing GP care and will help to improve children’s health as they develop. Ensuring more children have access to GP care without charge is a further step towards the Sláintecare Report recommendation for universal access to GP care, which recognises the need for expansion on phased basis.
The Health (General Practitioner Service and Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Act 2020 provides, amongst other things, for the phased expansion of GP care without fees to all children aged 12 years and under. The initial stage of this phased expansion will be the provision of GP care without fees to all children aged between 6 and 8. However, the appropriate date for commencing the expansion remains under consideration in light of COVID-19 and the additional pressures the expansion might place on general practice in that context and in anticipation of the usual increase in demand for healthcare services over the winter period.