Sir, – We the undersigned are general practitioners working in Ireland. Under current regulations, all qualified GPs in this State are permitted to treat any private patient who wishes to attend them.
Unfortunately, the right to see public patients remains severely restricted.
Over the past 40 years, an anti-competitive, discriminatory and blatantly unfair system was created that benefited and protected some doctors while discouraging others from setting up practices.
Through a mechanism of byzantine complexity, involving “numbers”, “general suitability” and limited “exemptions”, GP access to the public health system in any given area was effectively controlled by existing local doctors, via the HSE or old health boards.
A successful career in general practice was thus dependent on either the goodwill, physical absence or complete indifference of already established GPs. Patient preference was apparently deemed irrelevant. Consequently, many young doctors were forced to emigrate from a nation with a critical shortage of general practitioners.
In 2010, the Competition Authority published a report recommending that every fully trained GP be given the automatic right to treat all GMS medical card patients who wished to attend them, with full freedom of movement for doctors throughout Ireland.
The previous government promised to act on these findings, yet did nothing.
Subsequently, the EU/IMF, as part of the bailout conditions for the State, insisted that the barriers to general practitioner access to the GMS system be removed by the end of the third quarter of 2011.
In spite of this clear and imminent deadline, there has been no sign as yet of the relevant legislation.
As a result, many GPs have been forced to delay opening new practices, or defer expanding existing services, as they are unsure when they will be allowed to treat medical card patients.
There remains a serious manpower crisis in Irish primary care which will only be addressed when all qualified doctors are treated as equals within the system. We sincerely hope that the Minister for Health will not attempt to dilute or delay these urgently needed reforms at the behest of powerful vested interests.
We call upon Minister for Health James Reilly immediately to bring forward and swiftly implement this promised legislation. Patients can wait no longer. – Yours, etc,