Yes, I believe the cost is prohibitive. If a standard consultation takes 10 minutes, that would mean the doc is on 300 euro an hour, which I think is just a wee bit excessive.

Also, because Ireland has no sick pay laws, many minimum wage employers don't pay for the first three days, which means that those on the minimum wage have to forgo 3 days pay, and pay a days wages to see the doctor to get a note, so they can go back to work. Three cheers for the Celtic Tiger!

Personally, I have found a happy solution. My doctor is decrepit and his memory isn't what it used to be, so I just tell him I'll pay him next week. The downside to this is that he's a rubbish doctor, but it does the job when all a man needs is a sick note.

Yes it's prohibitive. And it's obscene that Mary Harney thinks it's not her problem if people can't afford to see their GP.

I have no problem with €50 a visit. I just expect the doctor to be competent, what does Mary think of that? Does she acknowledge that a lot of GPs are notoriously useless?

A set number (say 6) free visits per person per year would both eliminate this problem and stop people going up for stupid things.

To Hivemind and BLG
Why do you stay with a GP you think is crap? Are you guys stupid?

If you had bothered to read my post you would see that I did change doctors. It cost me money to learn that my previous doctor was incompetent though, and there was absolutely no guarantee that the new guy would be any better.

A lot of people are stupid and do stay with incompetent doctors. The sort of people that think being charged a substantial amount of money to be told to go to the hospital only to find out there was nothing wrong is 'a result'.

I think a sub-issue which is really important is the way people avoid the cost, which is prohibitive, by using a medical card. I know someone who brings their kids to the doctor for a cold, because if a doctor prescribes a lemsip, she can get it off the medical card. What is needed is a middle ground where nearly everyone pays a lower fee, with only very, very etreme cases paying nothing

Like the lady in the UK who, being pragmatic, called out her GP at night to fix a leaky tap.
Hivemind, how much do you think GPs should be paid?

Maybe I am lucky in that I have a GP who isn't in the habit of sticking his patients for every penny he can get and also is an excellent doctor. Being sick last summer a total of 4 visits with 4 sicknotes cost me a grand total of €135. he didn't even charge me on the last visit cos he reckoned I had paid enough already. So don't tar them all with the one brush.

As I've already said, I don't have a problem paying E50 for a visit provided they actually do a good job.