10,000 register for free GP care

More than 10,000 children have been signed up for free GP care since the programme opened yesterday.  Despite a rocky start when the dedicated website crashed and a lack of support and participation from GPs in some parts of the country, Health Minister Leo Varadkar said the launch of the free GP care for under sixes scheme had been successful.

Speaking at the launch of the scheme, Minister Varadkar said: “This train is leaving the station. This is done. It’s happening and we’re now happy to talk to GPs about renegotiating the existing contract dating back to the 1950s,”

More than 270,000 children are eligible for free GP care from July 1 this year. For more information on the scheme, visit gpvisitcard.ie.