Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 October 2019
163. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if a refund can be provided to a person (details supplied) who has had to incur substantial medical costs as a result of a protracted wait on the public waiting list for treatment. [42406/19]
View answerI am conscious that waiting times are often unacceptably long and of the burden that this places on patients and their families. In this regard, the Government is committed to improving waiting times for hospital appointments and procedures.
Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
The National Waiting List Management Policy, a standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has been adopted by the HSE, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
With regard to the specific matter raised, I regret to advise the Deputy that there is no statutory scheme for the reimbursement, by the public health system, of the cost incurred by an individual for private healthcare carried out in Ireland.
