Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 9 Feb 2000

Vol. 514 No. 1

Written Answers. - Medical Services.

Brendan Howlin

Ceist:

175 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason medical services of a preventative nature, for example, cervical smear testing, are not available free of charge to medical card patients; his views on whether this restriction may discourage low income patients from availing of preventative medical services; if he will abolish this restriction on the free availability of all medical services to medical card patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3687/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The general medical service scheme provides a wide ranging treatment and curative service for medical card holders. The position is that while screening services are not, at present, provided generally under the scheme, such services, for example, cervical smear testing, are available under the GMS to medical card holders where they are required in the context of an individual patient's medical examination.

I should add that phase 1 of the national cervical screening programme will commence in early summer of this year. This will involve approximately 67,000 women aged 25-60 in the Mid Western Health Board area. Cervical screening will be provided free to women involved in phase 1 of the programme initially and to all women, in that age category, on the extension of the programme to the rest of the country. Such a measure means that women, regardless of means, will benefit from this service.

The issue of whether a wide range of preventative measures should be available universally to medical card holders under the GMS scheme would have major implications for the operation of the scheme, its resourcing and its cost. For those reasons, the structured introduction of preventative services, in the manner of the national cervical screening programme, is a better way to proceed in meeting the needs of all persons in our society, and is the best way to encourage persons on low incomes to avail of these services.