HSE to appear before committee

MEDICAL CARDS:SENIOR HSE management responsible for the centralisation of medical card applications for over 70s are being asked to appear before the Oireachtas Health Committee next month to explain their decision.

It follows severe criticism again yesterday by committee members from all political parties of the way medical card applicants are now being dealt with by a central office in Finglas, Dublin.

A lunchtime meeting of the committee heard people seeking to have their medical cards renewed can be waiting weeks for a response from the office and also face long delays on the phone if they ring the office.

Labour’s health spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan put down a motion calling for the postponement of HSE plans to centralise all other medical card applications by April. She said this should be put off until a review of the way the system is now working was done.

It was agreed, however, that no decision would be made on her motion until the HSE had been given a chance to appear before the committee to outline what steps it was taking to resolve current difficulties. Age Action Ireland will also be invited to make a presentation on the difficulties older people are having with the new system.

Ms O’Sullivan said she knew one couple, both of whom have diabetes and one of whom also had a stroke, who submitted applications to have their medical cards renewed last October. They were now running out of medication and still had not received their new medical cards.

Party colleague Kathleen Lynch said that when she rang the central office, she had to stay on the line for 25 minutes before she got to talk to anyone.

Fine Gael’s Paul Connaughton said he was trying for 11 days before he got through. Fianna Fáil’s Margaret Conlon described it as an absolute disgrace that anyone should be treated like that.

The Irish Medical Organisation, representing GPs, has also complained of widespread problems with the new system. It said cards are being cancelled without anyone advising patients and eligible card holders are being dropped from lists.

HSE chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm accepted there was a problem when he appeared before the committee earlier this month but said it would be resolved soon.