Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 2 Jul 1996

Vol. 467 No. 7

Written Answers. - Irish ME Sufferers.

Noel Ahern

Ceist:

61 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Health the statistics, if any, there are to show the number of patients in Ireland suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME); the assistance, if any, which is available from his Department for families which have large expenses from treating ME; whether all possible financial assistance is available or whether patients of ME are discriminated as against in comparison to other illnesses as regards the way in which schemes are operated by his Department, the health boards and the VHI. [14453/96]

Róisín Shortall

Ceist:

118 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health the current extent of Irish research into the disease, myalgic encephalomyelitis; the research, if any, that is being undertaken in this regard; his views on the recognition of this disease for medical card holders, general health services and social welfare cover; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14401/96]

Minister for Health (Mr. Noonan,

Limerick East): I propose taking Questions Nos. 61 and 118 together.

All Irish residents qualify for a comprehensive range of health services depending on their means. Under the Health Act, 1970, medical cards are issued to persons who, in the opinion of the chief executive officer of the appropriate health board, are unable, without undue hardship, to provide general practitioner medical and surgical services for themselves and their dependants. Medical cards may also be awarded to individual family members.

Medical card holders are entitled to the full range of public health services free of charge. No illness or disease is precluded under the medical card scheme and in this regard all medical card holders are entitled to the appropriate treatment. In addition, general practitioners are obliged to ensure that no discrimination is exercised as between the treatment of medical card holders and private patients.

Non-medical card holders are, of course, entitled to the full range of public hospital and public consultant services for the treatment of illnesses and diseases. They are also entitled to avail of the community drug schemes which provided assistance towards the cost of prescribed drugs and medicines for persons with on-going medical conditions.

Persons who suffer from an ongoing medical condition can avail of the drug cost subsidisation scheme which caters for people who do not have a medical card or a long-term illness book and are certified by their general practitioner as having a long-term medical condition with a regular and on-going requirement for prescribed drugs and medicines. Persons who qualify for inclusion in this scheme will not have to spend more than £32 in any month on prescribed medication. Under the drugs refund scheme, which covers expenditure by the whole family, any expenditure on prescribed medication above £90 in a calendar quarter is refunded by the health board. Accordingly, I am satisfied that appropriate and comprehensive support is being provided by the State to those in the community with long-term medical conditions.

I am advised that VHI members with ME are entitled to the same benefits as every other member of the scheme.

With regard to research, the Health Research Board is the main mechanism through which State funding is channelled to medical and related research. The Health Research Board is not currently engaged in funding a research project in the field of ME. However, this condition is the subject of widespread international research in a range of medical and scientific disciplines with a view particularly to elucidating its cause which at present is unknown. The Department of Health, and indeed the medical profession in general in this country, monitor this research with a view to incorporating any new proven findings in the diagnosis and management of this difficult condition.

Since ME is not a notifiable disease, national figures on the incidence of this conditions are not routinely available. International studies based on survey techniques have not proved reliable estimates of prevalence due primarily to the lack of consensus regarding positive diagnosis of ME. Statistics on hospitalisation include a diagnosis category of ‘Unspecified Encephalitis' which accounted for 46 cases in 1995. However, it should be noted that most cases of ME do not require hospitalisation and, furthermore, that ‘Unspecified Encephalitis' may include other forms of encephalitis in addition to ME.