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HEALTH MINISTER LEO Varadkar had an intense exchange with a number of GPs on Twitter yesterday after they hit out at him over the under-sixes service.
The minister had triumphantly tweeted that 40,000 children were already registered for free GP care and almost three quarters of doctors had signed up.
It didn’t go down well with GPs who are opposed to the scheme but Varadkar was ready to give as good as he got:
Ciara Kelly raised the National Organisation of General Practitioners’ (NAGP) exclusion from talks on the scheme, as it represents a large number of doctors.
And with a reminder that “taxpayers come first”, the health minister signed off for the night, leaving his followers to debate it out amongst themselves.
Public registration for free GP care opened last Monday. The Department of Health reached an agreement with the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which represents around half of Ireland’s GPs, on the scheme but the NAGP has remained strongly opposed to it.
The association claims the scheme will significantly increase the workloads of already stretched general practitioners.
However Minister for Primary Care, Kathleen Lynch, said last week parents are not likely to misuse the service, stating the government had not “invented more children”.
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With two under six. I welcome this scheme but it must be a bitter pill for the GPs. Imagine the government just walking into your business and ordering that you give away items for free. Why don’t the government make gp visits tax free if they want to make it more accessible to all, not just those with under sixes. From the government who took medical cards from terminally ill kids, I can’t help but think this is just a political buy before the election.
they are being paid. one of the issue is that only some of the medical unions/representative bodies agree on the amount being paid.
“It said that capitation fees for children under the age of 6 will be €125 – an 82 per cent increase on the €68.65 currently received. “Including additional payments and supports brings the price per patient up to €216 per child under 6,” the union said.”
@john Appleseed. GP’s are not giving away their service for free. They are getting paid.
Yes they are being paid, but its the equivalent of Leo ordering a shop to sell everything at cost price.
except he is not ordering them to sell everything at a cost price.
Poor GPs don’t make enough money.
Everyone should keep in mind that doctors have massive overheads – insurance, hygienic premises, multiple staff etc
“get on the train ” …?
Poor Jews and the disabled and a whole host of others got on a train years ago and see what help that was !
But don’t mind that why don’t we have a discussion on the picture of Leo and Diarmuid Matin’s photo of their laughing Mason Handshake from a few days ago …Thumb on knuckle ….
@stopit
If its still profitable why have so many GPs refused to sign up for it in the full knowledge that those patients may move to another GP?
Hey Leo have you ever given a service free yourself. Just curious! Meanwhile back in reality people are on trolleys at 95 and waiting to see if they have cancer for three years.
It’s not free. Doctors are getting paid. Some GP’s are unhappy with the amount. Predictably.
some GP’s earn up to € 400,000 per annum. They just keep on wanting more.
Simon given children under the age of 6 are at the prime age of getting every bug going I actually think this is understandable. What gp’s will be paid will most likely not reflect the number of visits to the doctors surgery. Especially in the winter months for children with asthma, which is very common under the age of 6!
So the government does not see a problem with having doctors get paid a single fee for what could be multiple jobs. Why doesn’t this government just charge a single flat fee for say FOI requests then? If they are going to try and say Doctors should just get a once off payment for all work done, why do they themselves not support this in other aspects of their own government?
@sternn. Medical cards are also single payments. Do you object to this also?
Not many people have/qualify for medical cards. Plenty of people have kids. Also if you look at adults versus children going to see a doctor adults visit much less than children. That before you even add in people with medical cards. If a doctor is already seeing people with medical cards and then you add in every child in the area under six, thats a lot of people and visits they are not getting paid for.
They really need to rethink the entire system and work out something more like we see in the UK and France instead of this piece-meal solution which really works for no one.
In theory this is a good idea but even after it took 2 years from the original announcement to get this up and running it still seems not thought through and a total mess. Typical of this government
unions = why we can’t have nice things.
Leo’s on Twitter, so that’s where he is. I don’t use Twitter so could somebody over there please direct him to the Department of Health.
The shame in this situation is that it’s not about patients but about businesses. This is a situation of business before patients.
if doctors want a license to practice in this country they should have to accept this if not don’t issue the license.
We already have a massive shortage of doctors – we have to recruit abroad just to try and keep everything from crashing down.
You can’t do right for wrong with some people!
true potty it’s a good news story.
Nero fiddled while rome burned.
Varadkar seems to be of the same ilk – pushing under 6 issue when he has hospital A&E in meltdown -clown
For a doctor he is not very practical – too busy working his image machine rather than tackling big issues of hospital waiting beds.
Another head-holding Government mess ! Leo should be concentrating all his efforts in sorting out the more important problem of how very old people are being treated in his Health Service, before this type of blatant electioneering.
a family consisting of a couple of kids under 6 wouldn’t agree with you, it’s a good news story some people are never happy.
leo telling anyone to cop on and his department in a shambles, then he drops out mid way through a debate must be preparing for more photo ops, because with all his attention seeking he has no time for work as we all know by the state of the health service. leo why don’t you cop on. if he was that bothered he should have made the sign up compulsory.
Doctors are getting well paid to deliver this service, there actually getting over fifty percent more than originally intended by our elected government who represents tax payers btw. So it’s time now to put up or shut up.
Leo “cop on” to Trans Fats Ban like Barack Obama …. and save a fortune in Diabetes Type 2 health costs ……
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2015/jun/fda-bans-trans-fats-from-food-amid-concerns-over-heart-disease-risk-90087008.html
how much does a doctor need to earn?
two unions is one too much for Varadkar, has ever heard the right for free association
have your say