Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want to go to another issue, which I think Mr. Mulvany referred to in his opening statement, on income, other than directly voted income, which comes from charges that are collected. Some of this has been in the news recently with regard to what happens when people present through accident and emergency departments. I had cause to write to the Minister six weeks ago and I received a reply from the Department of Health last week, dated 31 May. I have a general question, but I want to set the scene in this regard. The case describes how the situation has evolved. A person presented to me, and I am using it as an example. I documented the example and went to the Minister for Health. This person presented at an accident and emergency department. Someone followed the person around with a clipboard asking whether the person had health insurance. It got to the point where a medic had to be called because the person's blood pressure became a problem. The person documented to me the follow-up, including after leaving the hospital. To be perfectly honest, I was alarmed at the behaviour. The reply I received detailed that operational procedures are managed by the HSE, which has no centrally held policy to direct individual hospitals on the completion and signing of private health insurance forms. It stated individual hospitals may have developed their own standard operating procedures in respect of the completion and signing of the forms, but this information is not collated, nor held centrally, by the HSE. The reply stated it is considered that the application of these operational procedures should be sensitive to the health status of patients while in hospital. We can see why this would be the response. It also stated the HSE has been asked to investigate this particular case and come back to me.

Obviously, individual hospitals are looking at their own budgets, and if there is going to be a shortfall, a more aggressive approach may well be taken in respect of this. In the case I documented, the person's health was compromised by the approach made at a very vulnerable point. Is the HSE developing central procedures on this? What pressure, if any, is the HSE putting on hospitals to come up with specific incomes through private health insurance in respect of this particular aspect.