Patients left stranded by changes to free transport scheme

ANNE-MARIE Healy is only 39 years of age but due to chronic rheumatoid arthritis, she is confined to a wheelchair.

She attends an orthopedic consultant at least three times a year, as well as an anaesthetist, pain therapists and urologist.

These appointments take Anne-Marie, who lives in Glenamoy in north Mayo, to hospitals in Sligo, Leitrim and Dublin.

Anne-Marie has been forced to cancel a number of appointments recently as she can no longer avail of free Health Service Executive transport to the various hospitals.

Such a patient transport service was available for wheelchair users in the west but as part of HSEefforts to standardise services, changes have been made to eligibility criteria for hospital transport and since January 2006, it is only available to cancer, transplant and dialysis patients or those with acute lower limb injuries.

Yesterday, Micheal Ring TD led a protest in Castlebar, attended by 150 demonstrators, calling on the HSE West to reinstate such transport for chronically sick patients.

He handed a letter to the HSE urging it to seek additional funding from the Department of Health if necessary.

“The transport cutbacks should not be happening as it is impacting on the weak and the elderly in our society. These are the last people who should be affected by health cutbacks. We are deeply concerned that they will result in the elderly and ill not taking up hospital appointments,” the letter said.

Yesterday, a HSE spokeswoman said that its national procurement division is working in conjunction with the National Ambulance Service on a protocol for the hiring of patient transport. She said the transport scheme had been revised as it was not similar to schemes elsewhere in country.

“The national review is at an early stage and will lead to the development of a national protocol on the hiring of such transport that will be rolled out across the country,” she said. The HSE has also agreed to meet Mr Ring next week.

But, for one person, the meeting isn’t soon enough. Anne-Marie said it will be near impossible for her to attend water therapy sessions in Harold’s Cross in Dublin next Monday.

“The train isn’t really an option as I can’t travel alone. I am also in a lot of pain so I try to avoid public transport. I can’t afford a taxi,” she said.

The Irish Nursing Homes Organisation has condemned the scaling back of the scheme. It supported yesterday’s protest and its chief executive Tadhg Daly has called for the move to be reversed.