Tuesday 6th January 2015. The GP Committee of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has warned that GP surgeries could be overwhelmed with extra patients if the crisis in A+E services continues over the coming days. Dr. Ray Walley, Chairman of the GP Committee of the IMO has warned that GP surgeries are already under-resourced and under significant patient pressure; “we are very concerned now that patients will feel they would be better off going to a GP instead of going to A+E. GPs are not able to provide an emergency service and could quickly become overwhelmed if the current crisis continues.”

Dr. Walley said that there was concern that comments made this morning [Morning Ireland] by Angela Fitzgerald, Deputy National Director of Acute Hospitals at the HSE, may have unintentionally encouraged people that were considering attending at A+E for an emergency problem to consider their GP surgeries instead; “GPs will do as much as they can – as they always do – to help their patients but we cannot be expected to simply replace A+E services. The crisis in A+E is of historic proportions and reflects a deeper crisis across the health services.”