IMO say family doctors could ease A&E crisis

The Irish Medical Organisation claims GPs could be the answer to the A&E crisis in this country.

The group says proper investment in community care could lower the number of patients waiting on hospital trolleys.

The Department of Health has only paid a fraction of the €1.3m promised to GPs under the Primary Health Scheme.

Dr Martin Daly of the IMO says the money would give more people access to medical care in their community.

“Primary care and general practice provides the most cost-effective form of medical care. With our aging population, we can’t countenance anything else,” he said.

“If we are going to provide high-quality care, we’ve got to do it in centres which are of high quality and accessible to the citizens of the State”, he added.