Have we a shortage of GPs?

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So you’ve nothing to offer but bombast and hyperbole. Oh, and this thread was split from a different one so I didn’t open it or title it.

Try offering data which counters my views, as @Early Riser did above, if you want discuss things like an adult.
And finally please realise that facts are not subjective and are not owned by anyone. If you disagree with them putting the word facts in quotation marks doesn’t constitute a rebuttal.
 
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Excellent post. If the large cohort of non-EU students are paying €42-€57k a year then they are the ones subsidising the Irish students. Without then the tax payer would be contributing more. Therefore it’s fair to say that it probably does cost €30k+ a year to train a doctor but around half of that is covered by other students.
 
22 Countries listed of which Ireland has the 9th highest ratio of GP's to population.

It would be nice to have more GPs - however from this table interpreting the difficulty people having in getting GPs is not due to a shortage relative to our European counterparts.

Population stats if anyone wants to check are from https://www.worldometers.info/population/countries-in-europe-by-population/
 
It would be nice to have more GPs - however from this table interpreting the difficulty people having in getting GPs is not due to a shortage relative to our European counterparts.
The GP numbers in that report appear to be the number on the Medical Council's specialist register rather than the number of GPs actually practising. There is no register of GPs in practice. The estimated numbers vary considerably depending on the source and the methodology but are generally lower than this - and some of them will be part time.
I don't know if the same isues apply to other countries. However, if reports in the UK press are anything to go by, it is a breeze to get to see a GP in Ireland compared to across the water.
 
I can’t see anything more recent that the link I posted and the information given by other posters. It certainly isn’t €11k a year though, as @arbitron erroneously claimed above, given that it was over €30k 11 years ago.

According to the HEA in 2018: "€11,000 per student each year represents the estimated cost to the Department of Education and Skills"

 
Have you read the article you linked?

I noted above that together with the State’s contribution (estimated) and the subsidy paid by their fellow non EU students, along with the modest contribution paid by the students parents, the total cost would be in the region of €30k+.

The inability of the institution training our doctors to be open about costs may go some way to explaining the inability of their graduates to do the same thing in the institutions they work in.
 
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It’s also worth noting that we have a very young population so we should not need as many doctors as other countries.
 
The GP numbers in that report appear to be the number on the Medical Council's specialist register rather than the number of GPs actually practising.
Yes, it’s almost impossible to get an accurate number, especially when non vocationally trained doctors working as locum GPs are added in.
There is no register of GPs in practice. The estimated numbers vary considerably depending on the source and the methodology but are generally lower than this - and some of them will be part time.
Don’t forget the locums!
I don't know if the same isues apply to other countries. However, if reports in the UK press are anything to go by, it is a breeze to get to see a GP in Ireland compared to across the water.
Yep, the NHS is a bit of a shambles though they do spend a good deal less than us and they have an older population.

On a general note, the problems in our healthcare system is in hospitals, not GP land. GP’s generally do a good job, though they are very well paid to do so, they just like to whinge about it.

It works better because primary care in publicly funded but privately delivered, just like the best healthcare systems in Europe.
 
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