Lack of counselling 'forces GPs to prescribe drugs'

FAMILY doctors have said they have no choice but to medicate people suffering from depression given the complete lack of counselling services, particularly for medical card holders.

The Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) said the Government had spent only €20 million on primary care in the last two years. Under its Primary Care Strategy, the Government proposed to roll out over 10 years a network of primary care centres, encompassing GPs and counsellors, under a €1.27 billion plan.

"The amount of investment by this government and previous governments has been minimal. There just aren't the resources there," said Dr Eamonn Shanahan, chair of the ICGP.