Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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540. To ask the Minister for Health the position regarding persons who have applied for medical card-general practitioner-only services, having application form signed by relevant GP, and now find that this GP has withdrawn from the GMS scheme; if his attention has been drawn to any such cases, whereby effectively persons are being asked to find an alternative GP, and more often than not GP surgeries are not in a position to take on new patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53052/13]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The General Medical Services (GMS) Scheme requires medical card and GP visit card holders to choose their GP from a list of locally based doctors who hold a GMS contract.

Where a GP retires from the GMS scheme and the HSE is planning to assign the retiring GP’s panel to a new GP after open competition, the HSE may, in the interim, assign persons on the retiring GP’s panel to another GP, until such time as the open competition has been concluded and the panel of patients has been assigned to the successful GP.

Where a GP retires from the GMS scheme and the HSE is satisfied there is an adequate supply of GMS contractors in the area with available capacity, the patient may choose another doctor from the list of locally based GMS contract holders supplied by the HSE.