asked the Minister for Health if he intends to restore the valuable facility available to the aged and to medical card holders of having free taxi transport facilities for travelling to hospitals and other treatment centres when needed.
Ceisteanna—Questions . Oral Answers . - Free Transport .
3.
: The provision of transport for eligible persons travelling to hospitals and clinics is a matter for each health board. Normally health boards use ambulances and minibuses when it is necessary to provide transport for patients. They also utilise hackney cars and taxis to supplement their own transport service in cases where this is considered necessary.
Persons who can do so are expected to use public transport to attend hospital clinics if this is available. In this connection I might mention that persons over 66 years of age are entitled to free public transport.
In recent years health boards have rationalised arrangements for conveying patients to hospitals; these have entailed controls on the use of taxis and hackneys but they do not preclude the use of such transport where the circumstances warrant it.
: Is it a fact that a doctor can designate a particular individual, within the Minister's conditions of age and eligibility, to be brought in a taxi? I am sure the Minister is aware that this was precluded by his predecessor and I should like to know if it is now being made available again. It was a very valuable service.
: The practice differs in the different health board areas. For instance, in the Eastern Health Board area taxis are provided by the board only in certain cases, for urgent admission to hospital where the board cannot provide an ambulance or minibus and the patient can suitably be conveyed by taxi, haemophiliacs needing urgent hospital attention or some psychiatric or mentally handicapped patients attending clinics. They are generally the categories for which taxis are provided in the Eastern Health Board area. In the Southern Health Board the situation which the Deputy mentioned prevails.
: This service, which was a valuable one for keeping old people out of hospitals, was precluded by the Minister's predecessor and I should like to know if the Minister has liberalised this scheme in any way since he took office.
: Yes, but more important, we have improved the minibus and ambulance services considerably in this area.