General practices are unhealthy financially

Re the letter from Jim Cosgrove (Letters, Jul 22).

More businesses are failing. General practices are small businesses.

The perception that general practices are inured to the vicissitudes of the economy is wrong. The swingeing cuts imposed by governments since 2008 have damaged general practice.

Mr Cosgrove quotes figures that are regularly published, re GPs’ medical-card incomes, but misses the point that these figures are overestimated and released by a cynical Department of Health to the media, to reinforce their rationale for more cuts.

The issue is that Irish general practice/family medicine is in crisis and the capability of service provision is on the cusp of implosion. It is estimated that the latest cuts to primary care will close approximately 10% of general practices nationwide.

This will make it much more difficult to get an appointment with a GP and some areas are likely to have no service at all. A multitude of services that used to be provided by the doctor, pro bono, are now going to entail a fee, as GPs desperately try to stay open.

Rather than glibly (and inaccurately) comment on “plump purses”, would it not be better to comment/rail/rage to local/national media and political representatives about the imminent loss of yet another good service to the Irish people?

Dr S D Punch

Mayfield Family Practice

Mayfield Shopping Centre

Cork