Father wins battle to keep daughter’s medical card
Tim O’Brien, from Ballyphehane, Cork City, confirmed the news after conducting a month-long campaign on behalf of his daughter, Lucy.
As first revealed by the Irish Examiner, two-year-old Lucy was given a discretionary medical card when she was born in Oct 2010 due to her serious health conditions.
The little girl has Down’s syndrome, hearing difficulties, and sight problems, and is unlikely to ever walk without orthotic help.
However, despite the fact that these issues still affect the toddler, HSE officials told her parents in August the support would not continue.
In response to the situation — which this newspaper previously revealed is being mirrored in thousands of cases nationwide — Mr O’Brien, 46, took part in a high-profile protest cycle from Cork to the Dáil to plead for a U-turn on his daughter’s behalf.
After discussions with “very senior” officials in the HSE, the service has now agreed Lucy’s discretionary medical card should be extended for at least another two years.
“I think in the end they gave it to me so I’d go away,” explained the proud father, who said the media publicity around the case was vital to the U-turn.
“The people I was talking with said they hadn’t examined all the facts [of Lucy’s situation] and there were additional facts they wanted examined.
“But I would say I was met with absolute professionalism, integrity and compassion by these people [the HSE officials].”
While 80,000 discretionary medical cards — which are provided on a case-by-case basis to people on health grounds when they do not meet the financial criteria — were provided in 2010, just 59,000 were in place at the last count during the summer months.
The HSE insists policy on when the card is provided has not changed. However, patient groups believe the way the criteria are interpreted has been altered as the recession has deepened.
