One family doctor’s practice received nearly €800,000 in fees and allowances under the medical card and general medical services schemes in 2012, according to official figures released last night by the Health Service Executive.
The figure showed that the practice of Dr Austin O’Carroll in Dublin received gross payments of €795,414 including practice support allowances in 2012, the latest year for which figures are available.
The practice of Tallaght GP Dr Andrew Jordan received just over €750,000 in gross payments including practice supports.
Overall nearly 30 GP practices received more than €500,000 in gross payments including practice supports for operating the GMS scheme in 2012.
'Crass attempt'
There were also about 70 family doctors who received gross payments of less than €1,000 for the full year of 2012. One GP received only €20 under the scheme.
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which represents GPs, last night said the publication of GMS payments to GPs represented "a crass attempt to distort the debate and mislead patients about the resourcing crisis in general practice".
Dr Ray Walley, chairman of the IMO's GP committee said the publication of the figures "was deliberately designed by the HSE to portray GPs as highly paid and to distort the debate about the growing crisis in GP services in Ireland".
"The implication is that the GP him or herself takes home this amount when the reality is completely different. Before the GP is paid a single cent out of this income they must first pay a range of business expenses including rent, rates, light and heat, vital and expensive medical equipment, nurses, secretaries and more.
Portrayal
"The GP is the last to receive a payment from these monies. And despite some of the dramatic headlines these create, the fact remains that a GP receives an average of just €10 per month per medical card patient regardless of how often that patient attends the GP.
“It is all the more disappointing that the HSE seeks to portray GPs in this way at the very same time that they are seeking to force even more services onto the system. The system is already stretched with cuts imposed of €160 million at a time when 400,000 additional patients are being cared for by GPs.”
Dr Walley said the publication of the figures at this time was a deliberate attempt to distort the debate over changes to GP contracts now being proposed by the HSE and the Department of Health.
"What kind of organisation deliberately publishes misleading and incomplete information about the earnings of one of its key groups of stakeholders in a way that is designed to undermine the standing of that stakeholder with the general public. We are disappointed but not surprised at the manner in which the information has been released."
Reduced pay
Over the past few years the Government has significantly reduced payments to GPs and other contractors providing healthcare services to the State under a series of measures imposed on foot of financial emergency legislation.
The vast bulk of GPs operating the GMS scheme are paid annual capitation fees for each patient on their list. In addition they can receive out-of-hours payments for non-routine consultations outside of normal working hours .
Special fees are payable for a range of additional services such as excisions, suturing, vaccinations, catheterisation and family planning. Other supports which GPs can receive include study leave, and annual leave as well as payments for practice nurses and locums.
