Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris. I wish to thank Deputy Munster for raising this issue. I will address the charges for patients for venesections first. The Health Act 1970, as amended, provides that all people ordinarily resident in Ireland are entitled, subject to certain charges, to public inpatient hospital services, including consultant services, and to public outpatient hospital services. Under the Health (Amendment) Act 2013, a person who has been referred to a hospital for an inpatient service, including that provided on a day-case basis, is required to pay the statutory daily charge, currently €80 per day, up to a maximum of €800 per year. On this basis, where venesection for haemochromatosis is classed as a day-case procedure and is not carried out in an outpatient setting, the public inpatient charge applies. However, it is a matter for a treating clinician to decide how venesection for haemochromatosis is provided. It should be noted there are a number of exemptions to the public inpatient charge, including exemptions for medical card holders.

The Deputy may also be aware of the ongoing review of the GMS and other publicly-funded contracts involving GPs, and that the next phase of discussions to progress this work is under way. The aim is to develop a contract which has a population health focus, providing in particular for health promotion and disease prevention and for the structured ongoing care of chronic conditions. It is expected that the issue of venesection services for patients with haemochromatosis will be considered in the context of the overall GP contract review process.

In addition, the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, IBTS, has been running a haemochromatosis clinic in the Stillorgan blood donation clinic since 2007 and sees approximately 600 patients annually. In this clinic the IBTS only accepts hereditary haemochromatosis patients who are eligible to donate blood. In 2013 and 2014 the IBTS also commenced provision of a programme for hereditary haemochromatosis patients in its clinics at D’Olier Street in Dublin and St. Finbarr's Hospital in Cork, respectively. The clinics provide venesection at no cost to patients with a prescription from their treating clinician. The venesection would be performed, regardless of whether patients wanted to have their unit converted to a blood donation.

In regard to the inclusion of haemochromatosis on the long-term illness scheme, the scheme was established under section 59(3) of the Health Act 1970, as amended. There are 16 conditions covered by the long-term illness scheme but haemochromatosis is not included. Under the long-term illness scheme, patients receive drugs, medicines and medical and surgical appliances directly related to the treatment of their illness, free of charge. There are no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the scheme.

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