Danny Healy-Rae warns patients may lose cross-border care after Jan 1
Danny Healy-Rae pressed the Taoiseach to secure a bilateral agreement to preserve cross-border healthcare after 1 January, warning that patients needing cataract operations, hip and knee replacements and other procedures could be unable to travel. He said about 5,500 patients a year use the scheme and pleaded that removing access would overload local waiting lists and force elderly patients to seek care abroad.
Issue raised
Healy-Rae raised concerns that from 1 January patients will not be accepted under the cross-border directive, citing advice from the HSE. He asked whether people who need cataract surgery and orthopaedic procedures will be left unable to receive treatment and left to suffer pain or loss of sight.
Procedures affected
He identified cataract operations specifically and also mentioned tonsil removals and other orthopaedic procedures, including hip and knee replacements. He warned the issue is not limited to one type of treatment and affects a range of services relied on by patients who travel north for care.
Local impact and numbers
Healy-Rae said five and a half thousand patients have used the scheme each year over the past four years. He argued that if those patients cannot travel to the north after 1 January, local waiting lists will grow and the county health service will face a chaotic situation.
Cause and negotiations
He referenced the wider legal context, noting the cross-border facility stemmed from a European Union directive and that Britain leaving the EU affects participation in that directive. He said the Republic and the UK Health Service are negotiating a bilateral agreement and that omnibus Brexit provisions include Northern Ireland and other issues.
Plea to the Taoiseach and local action
Healy-Rae said he had discussed the matter on Radio Kerry and planned a bus to the north on Saturday, and he pleaded with the Taoiseach to secure arrangements so elderly patients are not forced to travel abroad for treatment. He framed the appeal as urgent to prevent serious harm to patients and avoid overwhelming local services.
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Thank you very much, Lasky Oncola. Teachta, again I want to raise the issue of patients who need catholic procedures, hips and needle placements and several other procedures. They have been advised today by the HSE that as of the 1st of January patients will not be accepted or can't carry on with the cross-border directive. There are more things of a bilateral agreement to Northern Ireland, but nothing has been for coming on this. Teachta, I'm asking you now, are you going to leave people who have problems with their eyes and need their catholics removed, are you going to let them go blind, are you going to let the people continue suffering pain that need hip and knee replacements, because that's more or less what you've been insinuating over the last number of weeks. This is very unfair. Are you going to allow people to go blind after the 1st of January, Teachta? Thank you. That's the question that I'm asking. Thank you, Deputy. Thank you. Let the Taoiseach answer now. Taoiseach, I beg your pardon? Okay. Taoiseach, I too was informed this morning by the CEO of the Hospital Above and the North and this Saturday I have a bus going up and I went on Radio Kerry this morning to discuss this very important issue because I raised this with you in the Dáil before, Teachta. And just to be very clear, four and a half thousand, sorry, five and a half thousand patients have used this scheme every year for the past four years. And it's not just cataract operations, Taoiseach, it's tonsils, it's other orthopedic procedures, just to name a few. Now, if we take it that five and a half thousand people will not be able to travel to the north after the 1st of January, if you put that five and a half thousand on to our already overburdened waiting lists, it's going to cause a chaotic situation in our health service in the county. So I too am saying to you Taoiseach, I'm actually pleading with you today, please ensure that there is a bilateral agreement with the north of Ireland, because we can't have a situation that the only place people can get across border treatment is by going out of this country and going to some place like Spain. That's not going to work, Taoiseach, because the age profile of the people, they're too elderly to travel like that, an awful lot of them. So I'm pleading with you Taoiseach to do something for these people. Thank you. Deputy Brendan, are you indicating to come in on this question? This question I've been indicating for about ten minutes just to get in. That's okay. Taoiseach, thank you. I've made it very clear in the past that because Britain is leaving the European Union, this isn't a scheme, this was a European Union directive. Europe made this facility available to all citizens of Europe to cross border for health services and to get recompensed by their own taxpayer then. But because Britain is leaving the European Union, their participation in the directive falls. That's what's happening. But that said, I've indicated in this house, we are negotiating a bilateral agreement. Whether there's a deal or no deal in Brexit, we're negotiating a bilateral agreement. The UK Health Service and the Department of the Republic are negotiating. We have in the omnibus Brexit provisions for Northern Ireland and a whole range of issues. Just to say at the outset, to be fair, historically under the common travel area, and not just a common travel issue, but historically the British-Irish relationship on access to health services has been excellent. And the UK Health Service and specialist treatments have received many Irish children and many Irish people down through the years. Thank you, Taoiseach. And vice versa here. We know cardiac care now in Ireland is in Cromwell, for example, for children. So that's the spirit in which we intend to proceed. Thank you. I'm going to move on. The next one. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Thank you.
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