Medical card patients are being largely blamed for the increase in GP waiting times, according to the latest survey carried out by the National Association of General Practitioners.
The study has revealed that GP waiting times have greatly increased in the past year, for both routine and urgent patients in Ireland.
The rise in the number of medical card patients is direclty related to the rise in waiting times, according to NAGP Chairman Dr Andrew Jordan.
Almost half of the population now have a medical card.
The survey says the percentage of GPs able to provide an urgent appointment within three hours has almost halved since last year.
Only 32% of GPs stated that they can deliver service within three hours.
Also, 25% of GPs say they can provide patients with a routine appointment on the same day, compared to 35% last year.
The increase in waiting times is due to an increase in workload and a lack of resources. There were 260 GPs involved in the survey.