Setting up GP practices must be more affordable – Crowley  

Tax incentives are required to help new GPs establish practices and expand existing practices, the Chair of the IMO GP committee Prof Tadhg Crowley told the Medical Independent (MI).

A number of motions at the national GP meeting at the IMO AGM related to workforce and infrastructure challenges.

One motion stated that “it is imperative that our trainees are… supported post-training to deliver GP services in the community”.

Another called on the Department of Health and the HSE “to immediately engage with the IMO on sustainable supports to enable existing practices take on additional GPs with a view to partnership and allow those new GPs to be GMS list holders”.

Speaking to MI after the meeting, Prof Crowley stressed how setting up a new practice carries a substantial cost. “If you get a GMS list, you still need to buy a building or rent a building – these are hugely expensive,” Prof Crowley said. “If you don’t have a GMS list, it’s almost impossible to set up a practice because the banks won’t give you money.”

He added the costs of buying and renting property “are huge negatives” for doctors in establishing a practice. “And then even for practices who have GPs in, space has become the big issue,” Prof Crowley said.

“We need to sit down with the Government and point out that we need tax incentives or to use the tax code not only to assist individuals to set up practices, but also to allow practices to create more space to allow more GPs to come in. That’s something we’ll be looking at.”

Another motion emphasised the IMO’s support for the “independent contractor” model in general practice. It called on the Government, through the strategic review of general practice, to ensure this model is supported and resourced.

Prof Crowley highlighted the access challenges currently affecting general practice in the UK.

“It is incumbent on us to actually point out what a successful model we have here, and that sometimes quick-fixes, by moving away from the independent contract model, would be a disaster for the State,” he told MI.

The meeting also called on the Government to enter negotiations with the IMO to deliver programmes for women’s health and obesity in general practice.