Half of motor neurone patients denied cards

Half of motor neurone disease patients in need of discretionary medical cards are seeing their applications turned down by the HSE, a top clinician has said.

Professor Orla Hardiman, consultant neurologist at Beaumont Hospital, told RTÉ Radio’s Today with Sean O’Rourke programme, that three months after she wrote to newspapers raising her concerns over the growing difficulty in accessing cards, little has changed.

Despite Health Minister James Reilly and HSE director designate Tony O’Brien insisting patients are being treated the same as in previous years, Prof Hardiman said this is not the case.

“I write three or four letters a week to our clinic [for motor neurone disease patients seeking discretionary medical cards] and at least half of those are being turned down at this point.

“Many are also being turned down on appeal, something which has not happened in the past.

“Motor neurone disease has a life expectancy of less than three years. It requires integrated care in the community. The only way to access this is through a medical card.”

She said it is now apparent the “discretionary process we’ve been using for many years is in fact means-tested, something which we weren’t aware of before.”

This is resulting in people who are in a “moment of acute difficulty in their lives” being asked for forensic details on their finances, resulting in “long delays” for decisions on whether they are able cards.

She said the discretionary medical card issue is part of wider problems that are linked to the situation.

Citing two difficulties, she said people with a terminal condition who are expected to live longer than six months appear to be unable to receive an emergency medical card.

The leading neurologist also said the lack of access to medical cards for people with other chronic illness also means they are unable to access occupational therapy, physical therapy and other supports in the community.