Vol. 396 No. 5
15 Mr. G. O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that ambulance charges are being made to patients who have to travel from one hospital to another to receive treatment which cannot be obtained at their local hospitals; if, in particular, he will consider the case of a person (details supplied) in Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ambulance transport in the Cork area is a matter for the Southern Health Board in the first instance.
All persons in the full eligibility group, i.e., medical card holders are generally allowed free ambulance transport where it is deemed medically necessary. Persons outside of the full eligibility group are charged for such use of an ambulance, including inter-hospital transfers.
Cases where these charges would give rise to hardship are dealt with on an individual basis and each case is assessed on its own merits.
In the case referred to by the Deputy, the ambulance ordered was medically required and the charges were raised in accordance with the board's policies. The chief executive officer of the board is prepared to consider the case on the grounds of hardship provided the family contacts him.
I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. Will he accept that it was unfair to charge a family for the transfer to the Regional Hospital of a child admitted with severe burns to the accident and emergency department of the Mercy Hospital in Cork? The treatment given to the child in the regional hospital was necessary and was a follow-on from the admission to the Mercy Hospital. Will the Minister agree that it is unfair to charge families for the transfer of children from one hospital to another?
I do not wish to comment on individual cases without being in possession of the full facts. The chief executive officer is prepared to look at this case on the basis of hardship and I will communicate the result of his findings to the Deputy.
Will the Minister agree that the use of an ambulance in important medical cases or in emergencies should not be charged for. Will he agree that such charges are unfair and even obnoxious? Will the Minister now give a direction to each health board not to make such charges for ambulance services in the future?
Charges for ambulance services did not come into place since I became Minister for Health; they were already in place.
The Minister has the power to do something about those charges.
Under section 57 of the Health Act, 1970 the board have authority to charge. Certainly, I expect a board to be flexible as they are in other areas where a chief executive officer has discretion. In this case the CEO is prepared to look at the case.
