GPs advised not to take on extra refugee patients
Many have contacted GP leader Dr James Reilly and told their health boards they cannot cope.
"These doctors now simply have no choice but to stop taking on extra refugee/asylum seeker patients and many have been advised to do this by their medical defence bodies because of the implications for safe practice caused by the extra workload."
Dr Reilly, chairman of the GP committee of the IMO, accused the Department of Health of burying its head in the sand on this issue by failing to provide sufficient resources to deal with the problem.
Over a year ago, a report commissioned by the IMO and the department revealed that refugees/asylum seeker patients visited GPs three or four times as often and had consultations two to three times longer than other patients.
"But the department has taken no action since the Doran report was published their attitude seems to be that if they ignore this problem, it will go away," Dr Reilly said.
He said the department had also failed to respond to an IMO claim for increased medical card payments for taking on extra refugee/asylum seeker patients. This would give GPs the necessary resources to recruit additional staff, such as assistants, nurses, and translators to deal with this patient workload.
"These patients clearly have needs that should be met and they deserve the best care available. Unfortunately, GPs cannot stretch their limited resources any further to meet these patients' needs."
The Irish Refugee Council (IRC) also wants the department to provide extra resources to ensure that refugees/ asylum seekers are not denied medical treatment.
"The buck must stop with the department. There is no point pretending that if 600 refugees/asylum seekers are put into Mosney that they will not need medical care," IRC chief executive Peter O'Mahony said.
The IRC says two policies had created this problem the dispersal of thousands of refugees around the country without any forward planning and the Government's refusal to allow asylum seekers to work if their application has not been processed after six months.
"The lack of control over their lives and this long delay is taking its toll and causing continued ill-health among asylum seekers," Mr O'Mahony said.
A department spokesman said it was a complex issue and would provide a detailed response at a later date.
