A Leitrim GP says there is a genuine level of concern among doctors about the budget announcement on GP visit cards.
The measure announced in the Budget 2023 on Tuesday means that an additional 430,000 people will now be able to visit their GP's for free.
Dr Johnathon Egan who works at the Carrick Medical Centre in Carrick-on-Shannon says while doctors are happy that more people will have access to medical care, the fact is that most GP practices locally are already full to their limit.
Speaking on the Let's Talk show this afternoon Dr Egan says the extension of the GP Visit Card will inevitably lead to extra demand
"We do have concerns about it. Strictly from a resources and manpower point of view, as people are aware, there is currently a shortage of GP's throughout the country. In this area in particular the vast majority of GP's have closed their lists to new patients. Most GP's are operating at or beyond what they consider to be their safe level of patients. Any time the number of cards is extended, we always see extra demand".
