GPs urged to use doctor-only card

Health debate: The Irish Medical Organisation should immediately agree to implement the doctor-only medical card system which would benefit some 200,000 average to low-income families, the Minister for State for Health, Tim O'Malley, has declared.

Mr O'Malley said he agreed fully with the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, in her contention that GPs should not deny some 200,000 average to low-income families the right to free medical care because of some "spurious fretting about an unilateral change to their contract".

While he acknowledged that the IMO "have many excellent ideas about how to reform our health service", he said doctors should be ready to embrace and implement the change proposed by the Government.

"The IMO should unreservedly welcome the introduction of doctor-only medical cards and not introduce bogus notions about increased workloads that are patently not applicable," Mr O'Malley said during Saturday morning's debate on health.

And he warned that changes would be implemented in the health system to ensure that it was run "in the interests of the patients and the sick, the frail and unwell members of our society who have to avail of that service.

"The health service will no longer function as the piggy in the middle for any section, any profession, any interest group or any union. The service will no longer be given as hostage to any one element operating within it."

Stressing that his comments should not be construed as a threat, Mr O'Malley nonetheless reiterated that those working in the sector, or deriving any income from dealing with the health sector, would be expected to co-operate in improving it.

"Individuals, groups or special interests that fail to understand this new reality, will, sooner or later, be eased out of their obstructive positions," he said, adding that the taxpayers deserved such a quality service.

Turning to the issue of illegal nursing home charges, Mr O'Malley said that the State would be seeking certain limitations on the amounts of reparations that can be claimed.

"We have always taken a more stringent view on the need to indemnify the State against unwarranted and unreliable claims. That attitude to public money and its disbursement might strike some commentators as prissy and sanctimonious but we won't apologise to anyone for it," he said.

Addressing concerns about the high rates of suicide in Ireland raised by Deirdre Larkin of Dún Laoghaire, Mr O'Malley noted that 444 people died from suicide in 2003 but said that a great deal of action has been taken behind the scenes to tackle the problem.

Since the publication of the National Task Force on Suicide report in 1998, a total of €17.5 million has been provided towards suicide prevention and research.