Sir, – I read with interest reports that talks on “free” GP care for children under six are progressing between the Government and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO). Naturally this has once again successfully diverted media attention away from the 500 citizens lying on hospital trolleys.
Meanwhile, despite holding a trade union licence and having over 1,200 GP members, the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) continues to be denied entry to all negotiations.
Judging from its silence on the subject, it appears that the IMO has little difficulty with this shameful exclusion of so many colleagues and their official representatives. Such an apparent lack of collegiality is disappointing, to put it mildly.
Furthermore, unlike the NAGP, the Irish Medical Organisation has spent much of the last three years mired in financial controversy surrounding the enormous pension paid to its former chief executive. The IMO has since witnessed a steady haemorrhage of members to the NAGP, a development that many commentators appear determined to ignore.
The ongoing exclusion of the NAGP is unfair, discriminatory and fundamentally wrong. If the Government is serious about extending “free” primary care to the entire population, it must immediately reverse this policy and begin serious negotiations with both representative organisations. – Yours, etc,
Dr RUAIRI HANLEY,
Navan,
Co Meath.