A sibling duo of GP’s from Crossmaglen have announced an expansion of private treatments aimed at alleviating the backlog and providing a wider variety of care in the South Armagh area.
Dr Kevin Allen and Dr Brid Allen are based at Rathkeeland House Surgery in the town, where they have noticed an increase in demand from patients all across the region, and even from over the border.
In a bid to tackle these challenges, they’ve launched Medics Direct NI, a Private GP practice that aims to provide high quality, professional services for those who struggle to get an appointment with their own GP, wherever they may be.
They offer a range of services, including: same-day Acute GP appointments, HGV Medicals, Sports Medicals and health check MOTs, which are not currently offered on the NHS.
There’s also cancer detection blood tests, cholesterol analysis and other checks not routinely carried out in Primary Care.
The clinic is also in the process of developing cosmetic treatments to combat aging, rosacea and acne scarring.
What’s more, on medicsdirectni.com you can view the full range of treatments, prices and book your appointment.
Dr Kevin, who graduated in 2008 and has been a GP in Crossmaglen from 2016, says the current difficult climate for GPs motivated the launch of Medics Direct NI.
He explained: “We employ 18 staff here and there have been a lot of financial difficulties in Primary Care and in the NHS in general. There’s been no uplift in services financially and a lot of things have been put on pause due to a lack of funding.
“We decided this hybrid model of going partially private is the only way for people in Crossmaglen to get access to free NHS care without us having to fold.
“Unfortunately there’s no other GP’s in the area that would be interested in coming to work here. Mullaghbawn itself is under a lot of pressure to try and recruit new GP’s at present and we think it may be a domino effect across South Armagh.
“Here is one of the lowest GP to patient ratios in Northern Ireland and a lot of surgeries in the area are under a lot of pressure to sustain medium to long-term healthcare for patients in a safe manner.”
He continued: “We enjoy working in Crossmaglen. The patients are friendly and they’re very good to us and we’d like to continue that care we’ve been giving them since 2016, so we hope this hybrid model can sustain a GP surgery in Crossmaglen.
“It’s a great option and a lot of patients that have used it so far are very happy with it. They’re just delighted to get quick and easy access to a GP.”
You can visit medicsdirectni.com to find full list of treatments and prices, alongside the booking portal. You can also find Medics Direct NI on Facebook.
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