Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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509. To ask the Minister for Health his views on if it is acceptable for nurses and prescribing nurses working in general practitioner practices to charge medical card holders for visits. [24488/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under the terms of the current GMS contract, GPs are required to provide eligible patients with ''all proper and necessary treatment of a kind usually undertaken by a general practitioner and not requiring special skill or experience of a degree or kind which general practitioners cannot reasonably be expected to possess." There is no provision under the GMS contract for persons who hold a medical card or GP visit card to be charged for such services provided by their GP, or the practice nurse on behalf of the GP.

Furthermore, GPs must not seek or accept money from eligible patients for whom they have provided services under the GMS contract. Consultation fees charged by GPs outside the terms of the GMS contract are a matter of private contract between the clinicians and their patients.

If a patient who holds a medical card or GP visit card believes they have been incorrectly charged for routine services by their GP, or the practice nurse on behalf of their GP, they should contact their Local Health Office, who can investigate the matter in accordance with the HSE complaints policy.