Patients going abroad for major surgery must get all-clear from the HSE

YOUR editorial headlined ‘HSE targets eclipsed by EU decision’ (Irish Examiner, May 17) states that patients do not require the authority of the health board to travel abroad for urgent medical treatment.

Lest anyone should now make a decision to go abroad for treatment on the basis of your editorial, I think your readers should know that prior authorisation from the HSE is most definitely required if a patient wishes to be reimbursed for treatment abroad for a major procedure such as a hip replacement.

The significance of the European Court of Justice case, though, is that if the patient’s doctor states that there is an “undue delay” in receiving treatment in Ireland, then the HSE will not be entitled to refuse authorisation.