Written answers

Tuesday, 21 March 2017

Department of Health

General Practitioner Services

Photo of Fiona O'LoughlinFiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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861. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children that have been refused access to their first choice of general practitioner service for children under six years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13405/17]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The introduction of GP care without fees to children under 6 represents a major step forward in improving access, quality and affordability of health care in Ireland. The under-6s GP service contract, which includes age-based preventive checks focused on health and well-being and a cycle of care for children with asthma, underlines the Government’s commitment to enhancing primary care and keeping people well in their own community. To date, approximately 94% of GMS GPs have entered into agreements with the HSE for the provision of services to children under 6 and almost 364,000 children under 6 have access to GP care without fees through a medical card or GP visit card.

Complaints in relation to registration with a GP are dealt with by the HSE in the first instance. Where a GMS patient experiences difficulty in finding a GP to accept him/her as a patient, the HSE has the power to assign an eligible person to a GP's GMS patient list where the person has been removed from another GP's list or refused entry onto a GP's list, and the person has unsuccessfully applied to at least three GPs in the area, who are contracted to provide services under the GMS.

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