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Department says claims over GP fee inaccurate

Talks between the Irish Medical Organisation, the Department of Health and the HSE on the issue are near conclusion
Talks between the Irish Medical Organisation, the Department of Health and the HSE on the issue are near conclusion

The Department of Health has said that negotiations relating to the provision of free GP care for children under six are at "an advanced stage".

It said it is inaccurate to suggest that an offer of €100 per child per year is about to be made by the department or the HSE.

The Irish Medical Organisation has also said that media reports on the nature of what is being discussed or considered in negotiations for free GP care for the under sixes for payments and services are inaccurate and wide of the mark.

It was earlier reported that GPs were expected to be offered around €100 a year per child under the Government's plans for free GP care, for 240,000 children under six years of age.

The payment was reportedly to be set at around €75 a year for each child, plus €25 a year if the doctor weighs and checks the height of the child three times a year.

While no agreement has yet been reached, talks between the Irish Medical Organisation, the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive on the issue are near conclusion.

A sum of €25m has been set aside for the scheme this year, but extra money is to be sought as the funding is not regarded as sufficient to meet the full costs of the plan.

The Department of Health has said that the under sixes scheme will also allow for assessments for children once at age two and once at age five, along with enhanced services for asthma.

It said that the €25m estimate in the 2015 HSE National Service Plan had been based on existing service levels and fee rates.

The department said that what is now envisaged is an enhanced service and the negotiations are focussed on determining the fee.

Contracts will not be issued pending the conclusion of talks.

The Government is hoping that a deal can be announced shortly and that contracts can be offered by the HSE to around 2,500 GPs this month.

Under Competition Law rules, there will be no ballot as GPs are sole traders.

However, a welcoming of any agreement by the IMO would be viewed as support.

It will be up to individual GPs to accept or reject the contract.

A critical mass of GPs will be required for the scheme to proceed and around 40% of GPs signing up is viewed as a minimum.

A rival union, the National Association of GPs, which has not been included in the talks, is opposed to the scheme.

The group, which claims over 1,000 GP members, again urged GPs to refuse to sign up to the scheme on ethical grounds.

It says "it believes that providing care to people with significant medical and financial need must be given funding priority".

The union's chairman, Dr Andy Jordan said that providing care to people with significant medical and financial need must be given funding priority.

He said that investing €25m into providing care to a healthy child under-six while denying a medical card to an eight-year-old with cancer was simply unjust.

The plan for free GP care for under sixes was announced in October 2013 and was due to be introduced a year ago.

The aim is to have it operational by the start of May or June.

Parents will also have to sign up any children under six to the scheme.

Separately, last week the IMO, the HSE and the Department of Health agreed to start talks on a broader new GP contract to replace the existing 1972 and 1989 contracts.

It will deal with extending universal GP care beyond under sixes and over 70s.

Those talks are expected to last at least a year and beyond the next general election.

Under the Fine Gael-Labour Programme for Government, free GP care for all was promised within this Government's term of office.