GPs not taking on patients - how's that even legal?

L1011

amtc wrote: »

Because there's one window to register and one to pay and they didn't go to that one.

Huge numbers of non-MC patients don't pay on the day, follow up bill is the norm.

snowleopard7

One of the unfortunate side effects of entitlement is that it deskills people. So instead of learning to pause and properly evaluate a situation parents are going straight to the doctor because it’s free. In a perfect world this is fine, but in reality it’s obstructing a very overcrowded system. Entitlement in this situation is interpreted as permission to overuse “just in case”, add in medical card holders and private patients and you have a system slowly crumbling under pressure . Entitlement also allows people to divest themselves of the responsibility of having to figure out a problem. Social support in the form of certain types of entitlement is essentially a good thing but we must use it mindfully. In Ireland we have a serious issue with the undersupply and mass exodus of well qualified doctors that Simon Harris is not dealing with. It’s much easier to demonise the people working at the coal face than sit down and create a workable solution because that might mean difficult and unpopular decisions. This country cannot afford free health care. France is straining under the economic weight of its health care policies. Also the relationship between the Irish Government and the Medical profession is not equitable in terms of negotiating. For example by overriding the opinions of doctors and giving free health care to all U6’s they are sending a message to the public that the job of taking care of sick children in the community is easy and has little value. This is reflected in the behaviour of the people attending the doctor. How can doctors expect the public to respect a group of people that is only shown contempt by its own government? Add in that it’s our cultural norm to find value in a service we pay for and we have the current situation. Everyone’s unhappy. So in response to the first post in this thread. Yes it’s legal not to have an appointment available. Who made up the rule that doctors have to say yes to everyone? They don’t. Of course doctors prioritise patients, but not for the sad, miserly and discriminatory reasons that have been suggested, it’s because they have a finite number of hours in a day and a finite number patients they can safely see and they need to act responsibly. One of the saddest general messages I got from reading the last 13 pages is the expectation of a an accessible, compassionate, cheap, efficient , empathic, same day service from doctors but having no compassion or respect for them in return. This is what entitlement does. Doctors have made a commitment to do no harm, and that includes to themselves as well as their patients. There are not enough GP’s available. GP’s are getting burnt out and leaving. We need to address this and incentivise all well trained doctors to stay in Ireland and stay in their jobs. So next time you can’t get an appointment why not channel the frustration into lobbying the health department to invest more in it’s GP’s?

amtc

L1011 wrote: »

amtc wrote: »

Because there's one window to register and one to pay and they didn't go to that one.

Huge numbers of non-MC patients don't pay on the day, follow up bill is the norm.

Not in connolly. Believe me

L1011

Ambulance or any way otherwise urgent admissions to Connolly don't even pass the pay window. They also don't refuse people who don't have the means on them at the time.

RobFowl

L1011 wrote: »

They also don't refuse people who don't have the means on them at the time.

Rightly so !