It’s being reported today that patients in North West counties such as Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal are waiting between three days and one week before they can be seen by their local GP.
The report in the Irish Independent claims that more than two out of three GPs in rural Ireland are not taking on new patients and some have waiting times of up to two weeks for an appointment.
The findings, from a survey of 275 registered GPs nationwide, showed more than half of the GPs cannot currently accept new patients.
The trade union representing doctors nationwide The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), said attracting GPs to rural areas had become “significantly more difficult in the past decade”.
Donegal based GP Dr Ciaran O’Fearraigh has been telling ocean FM news that the report confirms what many GP’s already knew:
