Healthcare charges - Vulnerable people need most help

Parents of young children are being bombarded on all sides in the current economic difficulties.

But the parents of sickly children, such as those suffering from asthma and dangerous allergies, are particularly hard hit.

Most people without medical cards visit their doctor two or three times a year. Even though they can claim tax relief for those visits, 65% say that they frequently postpone seeing the doctor in the hope of obviating the need for the visit.