Undermining GPs is not the answer

A chara, – As a GP who recently emigrated to Canada, Minister for Health Simon Harris’s recent comments served as a timely reminder of why I felt compelled to leave in the first place.

Mr Harris seems to believe that a visit to the GP is overpriced. Chastising a GP for charging €60, without acknowledging the complex system-wide underfunding that necessitates this fee, serves only to manipulate public opinion against the profession.

In a health system that is widely accepted to be failing, the Minister’s ongoing attempts to undermine GPs in the eyes of the public continue to further disillusion doctors.

These actions will, in turn, accelerate the ongoing haemorrhage of competent, caring and compassionate doctors that Ireland can ill-afford to lose. – Is mise,