We all know about Ireland’s nightmarish healthcare system. But you don’t always have to suffer here – because ‘medical tourism’ is now an option, says Shane McGinley.
Ireland is spending record amounts of money on the healthcare system, but most people would agree that services and waiting lists aren’t getting any better for private or public patients. In many ways, we aren’t even getting the basics right.
While the billions pour in, we still have low numbers of front-line staff. Every other month, an in-depth report has our health system languishing in the lower reaches of the international ‘league tables’ of medical services. In healthcare as well as sport, it seems, we’re outclassed by the likes of Croatia, Columbia and Poland.
It’s no wonder that hopping on a flight to get medical treatment abroad is no longer a taboo for many Irish people.
Private Patients
The options for ‘medical tourism’ are much clearer for private patients, and many companies offer information on going abroad for procedures. Dublin-based company Global Medical Treatment lets users of their website, RevaHealth.com, search and compare more than 200 clinics in 30 countries for free.
The range of procedures covered by the site includes hip replacements, heart bypass surgery and fertility treatments.
The company currently handles over 700 enquiries a week from all over the world, with about 100 of these coming from Ireland. The most popular locations for Irish private patients are Hungary, Poland and Thailand.
‘Simon’ and ‘Anne’ lived abroad for several years and now regularly go to Belgium for all their medical procedures. Years ago, while living in Belgium, Anne developed a growth on her pituitary gland and was sent to see a specialist. It cost her €24 to see one of the top endocrinologists in Europe!
Simon recalls that the surgeon spoke to Anne for about an hour about what the operation would involve. An appointment was made within weeks.
The night before the operation, the anaesthetist met with Anne and Simon to tell them what would be involved, and how she would look and feel afterwards. A psychologist also visited her to make sure Anne was comfortable going ahead with the operation.
Simon and Anne now travel to Belgium every three years for their check-ups and continue to be amazed at the gulf between their new medical Mecca and Ireland.
According to Simon, patients can usually get an appointment within a week or two. You check in at 8:30am, all the tests are finished by 12:30pm, and you’ll get a 20-page report in English covering everything that was checked. The service costs about €800, with about another €200 for flights and hotel.
“Even when I showed the report to my local doctor he was amazed by its detail,” says Simon.
On another occasion Anne flew over to have an MRI scan. After she had the test done, the results were ready in minutes. She says that in Dublin the same procedure would cost a lot more and the results would be posted three to four weeks later. They’d often be forwarded to your GP also, bringing a further GP fee of at least €40 into the equation.
Healthcare insurance operators like VHI Healthcare provide cover for members who decide to have medical procedures carried out abroad, though you’ll have to get prior approval from an Irish consultant before travelling.
If the treatment is already available in Ireland you’ll be reimbursed up to the amount it would cost to get the same procedure carried out in Ireland.
Public Patients
For public patients, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) was established five years ago to combat waiting lists. So far, over 75,000 public patients have undergone medical treatment abroad.
Anyone who has been on a public hospital in-patient waiting list for more than three months can apply. Treatment is free and covers a multitude of ailments, from cataracts to prostate operations, tonsils, cardiac surgery and more.
Nicola Godden from Tallaght in Dublin travelled to London for a thyroid tumour operation after spending three years on a waiting list in Ireland. “You might feel that travelling to the UK for treatment might be a lot of hassle, but it isn’t,” says Nicola.
Only a small percentage of NTPF patients are sent to the UK or US for treatments – at the moment, this only occurs in extreme circumstances, or if the treatment you need isn’t available in Ireland.
For Irish public patients who want to travel outside the country for their treatments, though, a ruling by the European Court of Justice last year could let people stuck on long waiting lists in Ireland enjoy top quality healthcare in France or Italy.
The ruling came after British woman Yvonne Watts, who was suffering from arthritis of the hips, applied to her local health authority to have her surgery carried out abroad. After being seen by a consultant, Mrs Watts’ condition was classed as “routine.” She was refused permission to travel abroad and put on a waiting list.
When her health deteriorated and she was again refused permission to travel, she decided to go to France for a hip replacement operation there. When she took the local authority to court the European Court of Justice agreed with her stance.
The Court ruled that if, after a medical examination of a patient’s condition, the waiting time is unacceptable and treatment is available quicker abroad, the HSE must finance the patient travelling overseas to another EU hospital.
Lawyers are still dealing with the fallout of the court’s decision, but The European Commission is currently working to clarify rules that make it easier for public patients to opt for treatment in other EU countries.
Before the landmark ruling, an Irish public patient who applied to the Health Service Executive for treatment abroad was hoping against hope. In the future though, long waiting lists may not hold you back from getting the healthcare you need abroad.
For More Information
The European Consumer Centre’s leaflet “Accessing Healthcare Treatment in Europe”:
www.eccdublin.ie
