HSE publicise Treatment Abroad Scheme but keep patients in the dark

After my own experiences regarding information from the HSE or doctors/consultants, I can avowedly dispute the HSE’s spurious claims of April 12 on RTÉ News that anyone on a long waiting list will be told about the Treatment Abroad Scheme (TAS).

General manager of Acute Hospital Services with the HSE, Catherine Donohue also claimed that “everything is being done to get the word out about TAS amongst GPs and hospital consultants.” I urge Ms Donohue, to go back to RTÉ and say that this is not true.

When dealing with various medical ‘professionals’ since 1995, I was NEVER told anything about TAS when confronted with years of long waiting times and failure to get adequate, or dignified, treatment. My GP never told me as they ‘were not obliged to tell me’.

My parents also met a wall when seeking help for me when I was a very ill child many decades ago.

So, what exactly prompted the 4,083 inquiries about TAS last year? How did these people come to know about it, or is this figure just conjured up to highlight the non-existent transparency of the HSE?

It seems that our GPs and consultants do not refer abroad as this may highlight their own shortcomings.

After all, how many people from Europe come to Ireland for treatment, even when so many other countries have populations much larger than our own?

Florence Craven

Maynooth

Co Kildare