Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 September 2012
210. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the length of time currently taken to process an application for a medical card; the extent to which the process will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41182/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Health Service Executive has stated that 96% of all complete medical card applications and renewals are being processed within 15 days.
The HSE introduced a number of changes earlier this year to improve the administration of the medical card application system. These changes include: increased staffing levels in the centralised processing service to full complement; improvements to how medical card renewals are assessed and the frequency by which they are assessed; increased flexibility for GPs to add certain categories of patients to their GMS list; and the fast-tracking of backlogged cases, and cases where documentation has been mis-filed.
