GPs have insisted that they are the ‘most cost-effective part of the health service', but have warned that they cannot maintain their current level of work on a ‘diminishing budget'.

Last week, the Department of Health confirmed that fees paid by the State to GP and pharmacists for services such as administering the flu vaccine and treating older people with medical cards, were to be reduced by around 7.5%.

In response to this, the GP Committee of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) held an emergency session on July 8 to discuss the implications of these cuts. The committee noted that combined with previous cuts introduced in the last few years, ‘a total of over €150 million has been taken out of providing GP services to patients'.

Speaking to Irishhealth.com, GP Committee chairman, Dr Ray Walley, insisted that ‘you cannot withdraw that kind of money and not see a change'.

At the emergency session, a motion unanimously condemning these further cuts was passed.

The committee said that it was gravely concerned that the cuts would have a ‘direct impact on the range of services which individual GPs are able to provide to their patients and will, ultimately, lead to greater costs for the health service as a result of increased demand on secondary or community care budgets'.

The cuts are also being viewed as an ‘abandonment by the Government of any ambition to proceed with ‘free' GP care as part of a centrally funded system of universal healthcare', the committee said.

As a result, GPs have decided to withdraw from any work that is not covered by the terms of the GMS (medical card) contract. This includes the immediate withdrawal from primary care teams, community intervention teams and clinical care programmes (chronic disease).

However, Dr Walley insisted that this would not affect GPs' daily workloads, as these teams, which were established by the HSE, ‘are charades'.

"There is no contract covering these and we will not be taking on work that we are not resourced for," he insisted.

At the emergency session, it was also agreed that GPs who are not in a position to provide non-emergency non-contracted work should refer these patients to the appropriately resourced service, such as hospital or community care. Examples of this type of work include routine blood tests, Warfarin monitoring, 24-hour blood pressure monitoring and dressings.

"Our members are committed to doing all they can on behalf of their patients but faced with these continuous cuts, GPs will now have to focus on working to their contracts and having other services referred for attention to their nearest hospital.

"This is not good for patients or the health service. This latest move by Government further undermines general practice and will ultimately lead to higher costs," Dr Walley added.