Soon all those who earn under €46,000 will be able to visit the GP free of charge.
The health service will not be able to cope with the expansion of free GP visits, a doctor has predicted.
The change was announced in last year’s budget and has been described by the Department of Health as “the largest expansion in access to GP care without charges in the history of the State.”, Monaghan-based GP Illona Duffy said she feels the Department has underestimated the magnitude of the change they are ushering in.
“That’s probably an underestimation because they’re basing that on the fact that they think that not everybody will apply for it - which is exactly what they thought about the u-6s and they were proven wrong there.Dr Duffy described the health service as “already overloaded and well beyond capacity” and without a sufficient number of GPs to cope with the change.
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