Funding for assessment refused due to out of date online form

A young woman with a rare disease, who was refused funding to travel abroad for specialist assessment, has launched an online petition to try and get the HSE to change its mind.

Aimee Foley, 26, from Riversfield, Midleton, East Cork, applied in June for funding to travel to London for a formal diagnosis of a rare genetic connective tissue disorder known as Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.

Her initial application under the HSE’s Treatment Abroad Scheme was rejected on the grounds that the form — which she downloaded from the TAS website — was out of date. A fresh application was also rejected but Aimee did not discover this until she had already left for London to meet with a specialist.