Can a Doctor Refuse to See Unvaccinated Patients (non covid related)?

I absolutely agree with your points , I just felt it important to highlight there is a very disturbing element across boards who rarely think before posting or consider people's genuine hardships and needs, resorting to hurtful and insensitive bashing etc . I can relate , deeply to your friends situation, my own not has severe .

That is absolutely not what Dakota Dan was implying by his post, nor was it implied by what was brought up in yours since you mentioned it in the context of somehow medical card owners not being aware of the current GP shortage. Considering medical card holders have to find a GP just like a paying user, and indeed is even harder to find one that accepts medical cards, moving the goalposts now when people are well aware of your post history is kidding nobody.

I do not see it as an insult in the slightest, I also have one for long term medical issues and believe everyone should have one.

People who have long term medical issues tend not to be the ones going looking for doctors as they already have one. I don't have a regular doctor as I am thankfully healthy. The very odd time I might need to go, I'd basically just be ringing up to get an appointment somewhere locally. There is a medical centre not too far and I'd try there first and see whoever they had. If they were too busy and I couldn't wait, I might try another one which is further away. Actually, when I tested positive for covid, which was thankfully symptomless, I had to fill out a form which had a GP's name and I didn't have a specific one I could put so I googled and put down the name of one in the clinic where I last attended about 4 years ago.

People with health issues will have regular visits/check-ups. If someone has a medical card and is a long term patient, they may not be aware of the difficulties of people who are trying to find ad-hoc private appointments. The person with the medical card is already signed up to a GP.

Existing medical card holders can easily find a new GP: they get a refusal from three, and the local HSE will then force a GP practise to enrol them.

People who would quality for medical card if only they could find a GP sign the form, and people who would not qualify for one, often find it difficult to get a GP practise to enrol them - but this is a different legal issue from what this thread is about.

It's not all long term medical issues that get medical cards, and people with long term medical issues are more likely to be approached by people need advice on such things. Can we not just agree that the original post about GPs being aplenty was a silly comment made by an ignorant poster, who believed it for no other reason than ignorance instead of the rest of this nonsense?

This post has nothing to do with what is being discussed. If anything, it just proves than medical card holders can be aware of GP shortages.

Just to add , you have to have a GP in the first place as they have to also sign the form ( small point) but important and currently I believe not easy to get a GP take you on , worth mentioning also the GP is named on the MC and its for use under their care, Hospital visits, appointments etc, Pharmacy linked to GP and out of hours GP services in the MC holders district.

Changing a GP for a MC holder not at all straightforward, thankfully my own, excellent.

Yes, your own GP might not take you on under the scheme and then you would then unfortunately have to find another one.

It has gone away from the thread topic anyway. A big rigmarole for nothing. I did not say nobody on a medical card is aware of issues of getting a doctor to take you on as a new patient. I only said that, given a poster was apparently not aware of the issues, one reason for that might be if they had a medical card.

Others can disagree with me and agree with that poster that GPs are 10-a-penny if they want.

You've missed out a crucial step between paras (3) and (4).

What did the gastroenterologist say, and how (if at all) does what the gastroenterologist said relate to your friend's decision to inform her GP that her child would not be getting the 6-in-1, etc?