Expert panel will analyse range of chronic illnesses

People anxious to find out if they will qualify for a medical card based on their medical condition will have to wait until the autumn at the earliest for an expert panel to decide who qualifies.

A range of medical conditions will be looked at by the expert panel which will report back in September.

The HSE say that a patient representative as well as medical experts will be consulted about which group of people with conditions should be automatically eligible to access services.