The Government should have moved two weeks ago to reduce pressure for PCR tests.
That's according to Clinical Director of SouthDoc, and Killarney GP, Dr Gary Stack.
Calls to the out-of-hours service over the festive period were up 30% on Christmas 2019, which had been its busiest period ever.
This was due to people seeking referrals for PCR tests, as they weren't able to get appointments themselves online.
Dr Stack says the move allowing antigen tests to be accepted in order to receive Enhanced Illness Benefit should have begun prior to Christmas and not yesterday.
Meanwhile, Dr Gary Stack is welcoming the removal of a restriction which stopped South African doctors travelling to Ireland to work with SouthDoc.
This had meant that SouthDoc was down 40% on the number of doctors it usually has available to run the service.
Dr Stack says it's a welcome move, but again, it was late.
