Plans for free GP visit cards for under-sixes could ‘overwhelm’ surgeries
That’s according to research carried out by the Irish Medical Journal (IMJ), which suggests it would lead to 750,000 additional visits to GPs per year.
The IMJ research examined GP visiting patterns involving children under six in different payment categories.
It found average consultation rates for children with free GP visit cards was more than five per year, while the comparable rate for children for whom fees would be paid was two per year.
Dr Ray Walley, chairman of the GP committee of the Irish Medical Organisation, said such an increase would “overwhelm” surgeries and lead to waiting lists for GP visits.
The study set out to determine consultation rates relating to children under six by examining data from GPs’ practice management systems.
The study population was all children aged under six years who had first attended the practice more than 12 months previously and had also attended more than once in their lifetime.
A total of 1,931 children under six were eligible for inclusion in a cross sectional study of six general practices. Of these, 1,277 (66%) were private patients, 583 (30%) were GMS eligible and 71 (4%) had doctor visit cards.
The 1,931 children were responsible for 5,814 surgery consultations in 2013 (a mean annual consultation rate of 3.01).
The mean annual consultation rate by patient category was: 4.91 for GMS patients, 5.07 for doctor visit patients and 2.03 for private patients.
The combined out of hours and telephone consultation rates in the main author’s practice were an additional 0.69 per year for 256 private patients and 0.8 per year for 60 GMS patients.
