asked the Minister for Health the ambulance charges at present in operation in each of the health board areas.
Written Answers. - Ambulance Charges.
728.
Under the Health Act, 1970, the chief executive officers of the health boards
|
Health Board |
Eligibility Categories¹ |
||
|
I |
II |
III |
|
|
Eastern |
No Charge |
No Charge |
No Charge |
|
Midland3 |
No ChargeNo Charge |
No Charge |
|
|
Mid-Western |
No Charge |
No Charge |
£1 per mile minimum-charge £15. |
|
North-Eastern |
No Charge |
No Charge |
No Charge |
|
North-Western |
No Charge |
No Charge |
|
|
Southern |
No Charge |
65p per mile minimum charge £15 |
65p per mile minimum charge £15 |
|
South-Eastern |
No Charge |
No Charge |
40p per mile minimumm charge £5 |
|
Western |
No Charge |
No Charge |
£1 per mile minimum charge £15 |
Notes:
1. Category I is composed of persons who are covered by medical cards.
Category II is composed of persons who are eligible for hospital services free of charge.
Category III is composed of persons who are eligible for maintenance free of charge in a public ward but must pay the costs of consultants' fees.
2. In these health board areas persons in all categories who require ambulance services as a result of a road traffic accident are levied a charge similar to persons in category III unless there are reasonable grounds for believing that the injured person will not be entitled to compensation as a result of the accident.
3. In the Midland Health Board area there is a charge of 40p per mile for road traffic accident cases and in the North-Western Health Board area this charge is 80p per mile. The same conditions apply to these charges as in note 2 above.
may at their discretion impose charges for ambulance services provided by their boards. The following table shows the charges which are levied at present in each of the health board areas for the different eligibility categories.