Free GP consult for students at local college
STUDENTS at DKIT can now avail of free GP care thanks to a new service being rolled out to colleges across the country.
VideoDoc has just announced their seven day a week online GP service which will be provided free of charge to all student members of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) at Dundalk Institute of Technology.
The partnership, which is potentially worth several million euro to the Irish student population, is being launched as part of Healthy Living Week, a USI initiative to promote health & wellbeing in their 37 campuses across the island of Ireland.
The service is available to all 374,000 USI student members across the country and will be available until the end of the academic year (June 2018).
Speaking at the launch Michael Kerrigan, USI President said: ‘We are delighted to partner with VideoDoc to provide free GP healthcare to our members. With the high cost of living and accommodation being the main factor in student poverty, our students can now rest assured that if they get sick they can save money on a GP visit with VideoDoc. USI Healthy Living Week is part of our month long health and wellbeing campaign making sure students are educated and enabled to look after their own physical and mental health. This no-cost service will help students, and save them money.’
VideoDoc is an Irish company that offers online GP services in Ireland and the UK. Using the VideoDoc App or the VideoDoc website, patients with a desktop or mobile device can log on from anywhere, including their sickbed, office or hotel room and see a GP.
Each doctor is registered with the Irish Medical Council and the VideoDoc online GP service is available from 8am to 10pm, 7 days a week.
‘With VideoDoc we’ve created a GP service that cares not only about patients health but also about their time, convenience and money. Being able to get a quality medical consultation with a local GP anytime between 8am and 10pm, 7 days a week, free for USI students and otherwise for €20 per appointment is a revolution in GP healthcare,’ said Mary O’Brien, CEO and co-founder of VideoDoc.
‘Our experience of general practice is that about 70% of all GP visits can be treated online. Students who need to see a Doctor but are far from their family GP, or too busy to attend a surgery between regular 9 - 5 working hours can now log on from anywhere and be treated within minutes.’