Based on income levels this year the Government is set to give visit cards to an additional 430,000 people in 2023.
Dr. Pat Harold, based in Nenagh, says that access to healthcare quickly and easily for all is the aspiration but we don’t have the level of GPs to support that.
He says the Government run the risk of seeing others bumped from lists if they don’t address the already overwhelmed system first.
“It’s not that we are saying no it’s that we are saying they are kind of putting them in before they are reviewing the whole thing. And it’s a multi-faceted thing it’s not just that there isn’t enough doctors, it isn’t that there isn’t enough nurses they are all the things that they go through, but there is -population is growing, care is getting more complex and so far we have just about kept the show on the road. Th out of hours service will be under severe pressure if all these cards are suddenly flooding the market.”
He also spoke about the replacement of retiring GPs, stating that is happening too.
Over 65s count for a large number of those still practising in Ireland, with vacancies becoming more difficult to fill.
Dr. Pat Harold says that many of the jobs that are available in Ireland now are ones that in the past graduate medical students would have killed for.
He feels that there are so many opportunities now for young Doctors abroad that if the Government want to fill the roles and retain staff they will have to look at contracts.
“It’s not only an Irish issue it is a worldwide issue, healthcare professionals are in short supply. They will be looking at contracts I think, I think we have had the same contracts as 1979 or something but that coped with a very different Ireland… that is kind the way we are looking at it. I think most of us would love a good functioning NHS model like Denmark or something.”
