69% of GPs have struggled with normal practice expenses
97% of GPs currently see urgent cases on the same day, this could drop to 53% if Current Draft Under 6s Contract is Implemented
53% of GPs have considered quitting in the past 12 months
Dublin, 10th September 2014: A survey by GPBuddy.ie has revealed that only 53% of GPs feel they could see urgent patients on the same day if the current draft contract for Under 6s Free GP Care is implemented.
1,000 GPs responded to the survey, entitled ‘Taking the Pulse of General Practice’, which was carried out by GPBuddy.ie in collaboration with Gorillasurvey.ie from 25th August to 5th September 2014.
“The survey findings sound a cautionary note with regard to the introduction of Free GP Care for Under 6s as per the most recent draft contract”, said Dr McKeogh, Co-founder, GPBuddy.ie.
The survey has found that 97% of GPs currently see urgent cases on the same day. According to Dr McKeogh, the results underline the resilience of Irish General Practice given the extreme pressures it is under and the swinging cuts to resourcing that General Practice has endured over the past four years in particular.
However the survey reveals that only 53% of GPs stated they would be able to provide a same-day service for urgent cases if the current draft Under 6s Contract is implemented. While 92% of GPs currently see non urgent cases within three days, the survey showed that this would drop to 44% if the draft Under 6s Contract is implemented.
“The survey reveals that capacity within the system is on a knife edge”, said Dr McKeogh. “63% of GPs are worried about practice viability and 69% have struggled to meet normal practice expenses. This is a real sign of strain within the system”.
“The survey also shows us that GPs are now considering all their options. Of the 1000 GPs who answered the survey, a stark 53% are considering quitting. This figure increases to 66% when single-handed rural GPs are focused on specifically”, Dr McKeogh concluded.
“With 1000 GPs responding, the engagement with this survey has been unprecedented”, said Mr Joe Newell, CEO and co-founder of GPBuddy.ie “We will make a copy of the final analysis available to the Minister, Dr Leo Varadkar”.