Seymour Crawford
Question:119 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Health and Children when a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan will be provided with dialysis treatment in Cavan General Hospital. [15639/00]
Written Answers. - Health Services.
The provision of hospital services to eligible persons resident in County Monaghan is the statutory responsibility of the North Eastern Health Board in the first instance. My Department has asked the chief executive officer of the North Eastern Health Board to investigate this case and to reply to the Deputy directly as a matter of urgency.
Liam Aylward
Question:120 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Health and Children if it is now the policy of his Department to levy a charge for X-rays on persons who are referred by their general practitioner to a public hospital where, because of the long waiting lists, they decide to attend a consultant in a private capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15640/00]
The Health (Amendment) Act, 1991 removed the entitlement to combine public and private elements of out-patient or in-patient care at the same time. The position now is that every patient is entitled to full public hospital services including public accommodation and public consultant care. Alternatively, one can opt to be the private patient of both the consultant and the hospital.
The requirement that patients make an explicit choice between public and private care was recommended by the Commission on Health Funding on the grounds of equity since, under the previous system, it was possible that some public patients of the hospital could receive preferential treatment over other public patients by virtue of either being private to the consultant or by obtaining a private bed.
Any patient who opts for private treatment is liable for any expenses incurred and neither my Department nor the health board is in a position to provide financial assistance towards these costs.