The health service in Ireland is crumbling. For too long, GPs have had changes unilaterally imposed upon them, resulting in practice income cuts of up to 38 per cent.

General Practice in Ireland is at breaking point. Newly trained GPs are leaving the country, many with no intention of returning unless conditions improve. A generation of GPs is retiring with no one to replace them. All the while, GPs are being asked to do more for less. Most people around the country are unable to register in a GP practices as the practices have had to close their lists to new patients. Locums are near impossible to source and the funding for them from the GMS contract is paltry. GPs are disenfranchised, demoralised, despondent and despairing about the future of General Practice in Ireland. Something has to change before it is too late.

The promise of negotiations on a new GMS contract have once again failed to materialise and there has been no meaningful dialogue on FEMPI reversal.

We petition the Government, Minister for Health Simon Harris and the Department of Health and HSE to finally value GPs in Ireland by resourcing GP appropriately, reversing the FEMPI cuts imposed on GPs that have brought the service to its knees around the country and by meaningfully engaging with GPs to negotiate a new GMS contract (to replace the existing 40 year old one) that will adequately resource and serve the communities that they are intended to provide for.

Anything less is simply unacceptable.

(Please note, this petition is not, nor should it be construed as, GPs collaborating or being anti-competitive in any way. This is a petition for anyone to sign to voice discontent over the lack of progress over GP service funding - it is not a method of collective negotiation and does not aim to replace work being done by IMO/NAGP, merely support it)