Plans to expand the number of patients who are eligible for free GP care are ill conceived, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has insisted.

As part of Budget 2023, the government has announced the expansion of the GP visit card to a further 430,000 people from next April. However, the IMO warned that GPs are already struggling to cope with the demands placed on them.

It said that currently, there are too few GPs to meet the demands of patients, with many practices already closed to new patients.

“While we support the objective of removing financial barriers to patients accessing care, such a significant expansion in patient numbers requires long-term planning, not politically motivated budget announcements,” the IMO commented.

It warned that such a move will lead to longer waiting times to see a GP and this will “disproportionately affect those who are sickest and most in need of care”.

The IMO also criticised the way in which this measure was announced, describing it as “shocking in the context of the known facts about the current pressures facing general practice”.

“We have consistently warned that any expansion requires detailed planning and agreed implementation. General practice needs new capacity measures just to address current demand levels. It is inconceivable that government would think that capacity can be ramped up in a matter of months to cope with the additional appointments,” it said.

The organisation emphasised that GPs want to deliver a timely and accessible service for patients, however, it insisted that this move will not achieve that aim.

“There is no point in removing a financial barrier for some patients but replacing it with another barrier of longer waiting times which are detrimental to health outcomes,” it added.