‘A&E fees may deter patients’

By Fiachra Ó Cionnaith

Thursday, December 03, 2009

PATIENTS may be forced to opt out of attending hospital Emergency Departments if charges at the units are increased in next week’s budget, a leading group has claimed.

Speaking after leaked documents suggested the existing Emergency Department charge of €100 is set to be raised, the Irish Patients Association (IPA) warned such a move would be a disaster for the public.

While patients who attended the units without a referral letter from their GP or a medical card were charged €66 in 2008, this was increased to €100 in last year’s budget.

An Bord Snip Nua has recommended this figure should be raised further, to €125, in an attempt to help lessen the country’s financial difficulties.

However, while leaked reports suggest the recommendation is set to be acted on, IPA chairman Stephen McMahon has warned such a move could lead to serious problems for patients struggling with their own economic concerns.

"That figure is a large chunk of the weekly industrial wage, and clearly with a situation like that the worry is a patient might go to their GP instead of hospital when they have a chronic illness.

"These increases will lead to people deferring treatment at a time when it is critical.

"When you’re looking at something that’s in excess of €100, that’s a very high hit in times of need," he said.

The IPA’s comments are supported by a report commissioned by the HSE after the Emergency Department charge rise last year, which found that while the move helped to increase service funds it also resulted in patients opting out of attending the units.

According to the report, the number of emergency presentations to hospitals decreased by 4.5% in January 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

It added the decrease in attendance was observed across all public hospital groups in the country.

"Anecdotal reports suggest this is due in part to the increase in Emergency Department charges since January 1," the document concluded.

"The drop in attendances was mainly in the lower triage categories, which would explain why the lower numbers did not result in a reduced number of admissions to hospital."

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Thursday, December 03, 2009