Kildare is among the counties worst affected by the shortage of doctors

New figures paint a worrying picture of GP shortages in Kildare.

“Research carried out by the Irish College of General Practitioners shows that many counties are struggling to increase the number of GPs in their area, with some even recording a year-on-year reduction,” according to Cllr Aidan Farrelly.

“In the case of Kildare, GP numbers only increased by one – from 162 to 163 – between 2022 and 2023. This means Kildare just has 66 GPs per 100,000 of population when ideally it should have 100 doctors,” said Cllr Farrelly, who is the Social Democrats candidate in North Kildare for the forthcoming General Election.

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He said the shortage means that people are waiting for up to three weeks for non-urgent appointments. In some counties, the entry of new doctors is being “outpaced by retirements.”

Cllr Farrelly added: “The national figures are stark, with just 25 extra GPs added last year. It is unacceptable that the people of Kildare and elsewhere should find it difficult to secure medical appointments in their local communities as a result of the painfully slow progress by the government in addressing this crisis.”