Does eliminating fees at point of access affect Irish general practice attendance rates in the under 6 years old population? A cross sectional study at six general practices.

With the introduction of free point of access GP care for children aged under six imminent, we sought to determine consultation rates among this group. We interrogated data from practice management systems at six general practices (total patient population 27080). A total of 1931 children aged under six were responsible for 5814 surgery consultations. The mean annual consultation rate was 3.01; 4.91 for GMS' patients, 5.07 for 'Doctor Visit' patients and 2.03 for private patients. Our findings suggest the introduction of free GP care for children under six will considerably increase GP consultations. We also highlight the value of routinely collected general practice data in facilitating health services planning. We estimate that there will be an additional 750,000 GP consultations annually.