Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 71: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if he and/or the Health Service Executive has sought to ascertain the extent to which charges are being levied inappropriately on medical card patients by general practitioners, for example, for blood tests; the action he proposes to take to eliminate this practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13456/11]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Under the General Medical Services (GMS) contract, a general practitioner (GP) is expected to provide his/her patients who hold medical cards or GP visit cards with all proper and necessary treatment of a kind generally undertaken by a GP. Where blood tests form part of the investigation and necessary treatment of patients' symptoms or conditions, these should be provided free of charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. The HSE also points out that, in many GP surgeries, it is the practice nurse who takes blood samples. The HSE significantly subsidises the cost of employing practice nurses.

I would be most concerned if it were to emerge that GMS patients are being charged inappropriately by GP contractors. If the HSE is made aware of specific cases where GMS patients are being charged by GP contractors, it will arrange to have such cases investigated as appropriate. A report has been requested from the Primary Care Unit Managers in the HSE on the extent of complaints received and the status of same.