As to the Irish College of General Practitioners, over 75% of the roughly 2,500 general practitioner practices in Ireland have stopped accepting new patients, reports RTE.
General practitioners (GPs) around the nation have expressed frustration with their overwhelming workloads and the difficulty they have in drawing in younger, skilled candidates, particularly in rural and underdeveloped areas.
In the village of Ballygar, County Galway, Dr Martin Daly and his spouse almost closed their general practitioner business in July 2022.
Because they were unable to obtain temporary protection, they had not been able to take a family vacation in three years, reports RTE.
Ireland’s general practitioners (GPs) and their patients are suffering greatly from the worldwide shortage of medical professionals.
Over the past 30 years, Ireland’s population has increased by almost 50%, yet the country has not seen a corresponding rise in the number of general practitioners hired or trained there.
Moreover, attitudes have changed. Working 60 or 70 hours a week was standard for rural doctors when Dr. Daly obtained his GP qualification.
“The younger GP will not do that and rightly so,” Dr Daly said, reports RTE.
“They have an entitlement to have time off for their families, for education, for sick leave, for maternity leave and also to take holidays like anyone else in society. We’ve been very lucky to recruit a young partner in the last year,” Dr Daly said, “that has saved this practice”, reports RTE.
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