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Patients clogging up A&E with hiccups, sore throats and niggles
(www.bbc.co.uk)
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this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2025
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They partly solved that here (Ireland) by making A&E visits €100 but free if your GP sends you in, but it sounds from the other comments like your GP situation is dire over there. How bad is it?
So if I break my arm, and am in incredible pain, I need to first pop by my GP to get a referral, or pay 100€ if I go straight to A&E ?
I feel like needing a referral to got to Accident and Emergencies kinda defeats the whole point of A&E....
Ah if you break your arm you just head straight in. I'm not sure if a medical card (essentially free medical treatment for low income folks) works for that but I'd imagine it does.
We had a lot of folks just arriving into A&E before because it was cheaper than going to their GP.
ah so you were already paying to visit a GP? How much is that then?
Free at the point of service was a founding principle for a reason. A levy doesnt fix the root cause of the issue, and produces a myriad of other problems.
That would only work if they fix the GP system. Otherwise people will just pay the fee and go anyway.
If you don't call between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and 1 second you won't get an appointment the same day. Seriously that's not much of an over exaggeration, it really is that bad.
Can you see your GP immediately? Like, when my partner has a seizure that lasts more than 2 minutes I'm meant to call an ambulance, but do you have to talk to your GP first?
Anyway, where I am in England it's pretty difficult to get a routine appointment. 2-3 week waiting times. I've been having panic attacks and couldn't speak to my doctor to get help; I completely understand why someone would go to A&E for help with this because you feel like you're dying and who else can help if your GP can't see you?
Ah if someone has a seizure you're just calling an ambulance. I actually think it might be free if you do. I had to call one for my wife early in the year and I don't recall us paying (she badly needed it).