Patients’ representative wants action on medical cards for families in need
Our Children’s Health spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick said he will raise the possible measure at the 12-person group’s first meeting next week in a bid to address the public’s most pressing concerns.
Under plans previously flagged by Government, the HSE yesterday appointed 12 independent doctors, cancer experts, therapists and patient representatives to a group tasked with further reforming the discretionary medical card process.
The body will be confined to 10 recommendations put forward by the Keane report last November, and will specifically be told to put in place a workable system for assessing “burden of disease” issues and “operational guidelines” for officials making decisions on medical card applications.
It is hoped the approach, which will see the group draw up an interim report within three months before further quarterly documents on how the plans are working for the next two years, will help create a fairer system for people genuinely in need after a year-long crisis for patients, and Government.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr Fitzpatrick — who spent months campaigning outside the Dáil alongside his brother Kevin Shortall on behalf of his niece Louise who is battling leukaemia — said he does not want to “pre-empt” the group’s work.
He added he will spend the coming days speaking to as many other patient organisations as possible to gather their views on what should be raised.
However, the patient campaigner said the advisory group should quickly agree ways to resolve key issues for seriously ill patients currently being refused State help, which he said could be implemented before the three-month first report deadline.
“From my personal point of view, there are certain types of conditions, specifically terminal and life-limiting conditions, that can be agreed on quickly, and then we can put measures in place as soon as possible.
“I don’t want to pre-empt the work of the group before speaking with anyone, but there can be one or two key points that can be pushed through quickly for people in real need,” he said.
Mr Fitzpatrick is one of two patient representatives who have been appointed to the group, the other being Patients for Patient Safety Ireland member Patricia Ryan.
He was contacted by a HSE official yesterday, hours after his Our Children’s Health organisation revealed the parents of a four-year-old cancer patient who was turned down for a discretionary medical card are being pursued by a debt collector for almost €1,000 owed to a midlands hospital.
Mr Fitzpatrick said he did not believe anything has changed since the Keane report in November outlined a number of medical card changes, including the decision that terminally ill patients who held cards will not have to go through renewal processes.
Health Minister Leo Varadkar has disputed the claim, and told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme the system is now more conscious of people’s needs.
While accepting some people are still missing out, he said 76,000 patients now hold discretionary medical cards compared to 50,294 last summer.
On the same programme, Jack and Jill Foundation chief executive Jonathan Irwin said any medical card changes must address the fact children should be seen as individuals, and not only receive care based on their family’s income.
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