Criticism of VHI clinics does not make sense

DOCTOR James Binchy of the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine claims says that “treatment for serious conditions was being delayed as a result of patients having to be transferred from the (new VHI) clinics to hospital A&E departments” (Irish Examiner, June 23).

This defies commonsense. The referral rate from these clinics to hospitals was 100 in 7,000 patients, or 1.4% — so where is the issue? What about the benefits to our A&E departments as a result of 7,000 fewer patients visiting them in any six-month period?

I’ve no doubt that just as we saw opposition to the opening up of the taxi and airline businesses, we’ll also see more of this type of unfounded criticism of these new clinics and any other attempts to improve our national health care system. There has never been a greater need for choice in healthcare. We all know that our health service is a national disgrace and a monument to incompetence.