'Overly complex’ HSE scheme caused 'unnecessary distress', says Ombudsman

A man with a rare, painful, and debilitating disease was denied HSE funding for specialist treatment abroad due to shortcomings in the scheme designed to finance such requests, an Ombudsman investigation has found.

Ombudsman Peter Tyndall has today published a report following his investigation into the HSE’s administration of the Treatment Abroad Scheme following a number of complaints the scheme is overly complex: there were delays in approving applications, the process lacks transparency, and some applicants were being given incorrect information.

The Treatment Abroad Scheme (TAS) provides funding to allow Irish public patients access healthcare in other EU countries, the European Economic Area or Switzerland that is not available here.