asked the Minister for Health if he will take steps to ensure that non-medical card holders who urgently require the services of a doctor can obtain these services when they are clearly willing to pay for such services.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Medical Services Availability.
111.
There is no statutory authority under which I could require a general practitioner to provide medical services for a person who is not covered by a medical card. This is a matter for private arrangement between the individual and the doctor.
While I accept that reply in regard to the Minister's position, would he not accept it as being indefensible when there is, on the one hand, free medical service for one section of our people while, on the other hand, there are people who do not qualify for that but who are prepared to pay for it and the State is doing nothing for them?
I take the Deputy's point but I do not think it relevant to this question. This question asks me what can I, or the Department, do to ensure that a doctor will treat a person in the middle income group. I cannot make a doctor attend.
That is the point to which I referred. We have a situation, say, in my constituency, or in the Parliamentary Secretary's constituency, where there are people—especially over the weekend—in need of a doctor, who are prepared to pay for him and who cannot have one. Could not the Minister at least appeal to the medical union to think about it and exhort their members to make some arrangement under which people who are prepared to pay could have this essential service?
To be quite honest, I do not know how widespread this is.
It is common enough.
But I will certainly discuss it with the medical organisations.