Alan Kelly
Question:1452. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the percentage of the adult population by county who are not registered with a general practitioner. [14276/21]
View answerWednesday, 24 March 2021
Questions (1452)
Written answers
General Practitioners are private contractors. There is no prescribed ratio of GPs to patients and the State does not regulate the number of GPs that can set up in a town or community.
The majority of GPs provide services on behalf of the HSE to people with medical cards and GP visit cards. As of 1 February, over 2.1 million people, or almost 43% of the population, now have access to free GP care and are registered with a GP.
People who do not hold either a medical card or a GP visit card access GP services on a private basis. The State does not prescribe the number of private patients that may be registered with a GP; this is a matter for individual GP practices.
Information on the percentage of the population who are not registered with a GP is not collected by my Department or the HSE.