Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1695. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Health the assistance that is available to a person (details supplied) to secure the services of a general practitioner given the circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39947/22]
View answerWhere a GMS patient experiences difficulty in finding a GP to accept him/her as a patient and has unsuccessfully applied to at least three GPs in the area who are contracted to provide services under the GMS, then the HSE can assign that person to a GP's GMS patient list.
Private patients (those who do not hold a medical card or GP visit card) access GP services on a private basis and can make enquiries directly to any GP practice they wish to register with.
GPs are private contractors and it is a matter for each individual GP to decide whether to accept additional private patients. In some instances, GP practices have a full list of patients and cannot take on new patients. If this happens, patients should contact other GP practices in their area. Neither I nor the HSE have any role in assigning private patients to a GP’s patient list.
The Government is aware of the workforce issues currently facing general practice, including the limited access to GP services in certain areas, and has implemented a number of measures to increase GP capacity.
These measures include an increase in investment in general practice by approximately 40% (€210 million) between 2019 and 2023 under the terms of the 2019 GMS GP Agreement. The Agreement provides for increased support for GPs working in rural practices and for those working in disadvantaged urban areas, and for improvements to maternity and paternity leave arrangements. In addition, the number of GPs entering training has been increased steadily over the past number of years, rising from 120 in 2009 to 258 places filled in 2022.
These measures will see an increase in the number of GPs working in the State, improving access to GP services for patients throughout the country.
