SOS call to help NI's family doctors

Doctors’ leaders are calling for 11% of Northern Ireland’s health budget to go to saving our crisis-hit GP services.

And in a poll for the Royal College of General Practitioners here, four-fifths of those surveyed said they were concerned political instability would delay necessary improvements.

Chair, Grainne Doran, called for immediate action to address the crisis.

She said: “Until we have a fully functioning government in place, health and social care reform will continue to be put on hold.

“`In the meantime, general practice services continue to deteriorate and if urgent action is not taken, patient care will suffer.''

According to a recent YouGov poll, most who used GP services said there was a need for more GPs.

Almost twice as many people prioritised health as the economy.

RCGPNI has been calling on the government to take immediate action to address the current crisis facing general practice.

Dr Doran added: “Health and social care, including investing in general practice, must be the top priority for political parties.

“We no longer have the luxury of time, we need to see urgent action to address primary care pressures, immediately following the election.''

• GPs