New Wicklow GP closed to new patients due to complexity of non-national cases
Some 75pc of patients are not Irish and many need translators and significant time for appointments
Dr John Kealy at his new practice in Bray.
A new GP practice in Bray, which received over 400 calls of interest before it had even opened its doors last month, now has to turn away new clients because the number of patients from abroad, particularly Ukraine, who are struggling to overcome language barriers and who need to begin a new clinical pathway, are placing too much of a strain on its services.
Dr John Kealy, who opened Blackbird Clinic on Bray’s Main Street in March, said that he “willingly” took on patients from Ukraine, who he described as “lovely people”, as he had already been employed with the Edoc service, which runs a clinic at a centre in Bray for Ukrainians and international refugees, before he opened his own practice. And while he welcomes all patients, regardless of nationality, he explained that attending to patients from abroad is far more complex, and the time required to adequately deal with one non-national is equivalent to seeing “10 or 15 Irish people”.
This is Wicklow Newsletter
Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Wicklow newsletter direct to your inbox.
