Our two-tier health system means money equals health

There are many anomalies in our health services, and far too many of those inequities are based on a person’s ability to pay. In this society, money means health far too often.

The difficulties that some pregnant women face while trying to get the peace of mind a 20-week foetal anomaly scan can offer is one of those, especially where there is a long waiting list for gynaecology support and especially outside of the catchment area of major maternity hospitals.

This service is routinely offered in Dublin but, in other areas, more than half the women who might benefit from it may not be offered the option. Because of resource or governance issues, the scan is only offered to ‘at-risk’ women in some major maternity hospitals. This is not satisfactory.

Hardly a week passes without some unnerving story or other from our health service. This is another and it adds to the belief that the efforts being made to reform and improve an already stretched service must be intensified and, as HSE chief Tony O’Brien warned just last week, a huge increase in the health budget is required .