Charity urges review of medical card system

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been urged to intervene in the ongoing medical card crisis and ensure terminally ill children automatically receive the vital support.

The Jack and Jill Foundation made the call after insisting parents of healthy children aged five and under do not want free GP care if it means help is taken away from palliative care babies.

The group’s CEO, Jonathan Irwin, said Mr Kenny should consider terminally ill children as a “special group”.

He said the move was essential in order to ensure they receive full medical card support without any further queries being required, a move which would mean “their parents are supported to take them home for whatever little time they have”.

“The parents of healthy children under five years old do not want this free GP card at the expense of medical cards for children who are dying, or children with severe disabilities whose medical cards are delayed or refused. That’s inhuman and nobody wants that.

“Medical cards for a palliative [dying] child should not be up for review and should not be issued on a temporary basis, but rather given to the family automatically and followed up by a range of supports to help parents to care for their child at home.

“This medical card debate is going around in circles post-budget and I am calling on the Taoiseach to order a review of the HSE’s broken medical card system, before any free GP cards for under-fives are initiated. The Taoiseach must insist children who are palliative are treated as a special group and are given every support they need and deserve as an Irish citizen to die with dignity at home, with their family.

“What we need now is courage and integrity from the people who can fix this broken system.”

The charity’s comments come as the medical cards controversy threatens to topple Health Minister James Reilly.

Fianna Fáil continues to call for him to resign. However, Fine Gael officials have been quick to insist he is doing the best job possible in the circumstances.

His department has been tasked with cutting €666m from the system next year, €113m of which is to come from a “probity” review of the medical card system.

Dr Reilly has said that nobody who legitimately needs the help should be concerned by the inquiry.