Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Chomh maith leis an Teachta McHugh, gabhaim comhghairdeas le gach duine mar gheall ar International Women’s Day.

Téann a lán daoine gach bliain, nó gach seachtain, ag iarraidh freagraí dá ngearán leighis. Faigheann siad endoscopies agus colonoscopies chun freagraí a fháil dóibh féin. Sna laethanta roimh na mion-obráidí seo, b’éigean dóibh troscadh a dhéanamh agus beagáinín leighis nó cógais a thógáil.

Many patients seeking answers for medical difficulties are sent for an endoscopy or a colonoscopy. Sometimes it could be for ulcers, flux or blockages, and sometimes pre-cancerous lesions or ulcers can be found with an endoscopy or colonoscopy. A person may have an inflamed bowel, colitis or pre-cancerous polyps. It can be very stressful for patients when they are trying to find this out. In advance of the procedure, they usually receive a prescription in the post for the preparatory medication such as Picolax or Klean-Prep. Some people say the cost of these is not huge, but nonetheless they can vary between €20 and up to €50. Different pharmacies charge different prices. It has come to my attention in recent weeks that these costs should be covered under the medical card scheme. It seems, however, they are joining an increasing list of medications prescribed or actions carried out by GPs for which patients are expected or asked to pay despite qualifying for a medical card. There was one woman in her 70s who informed our office she had asked her doctor to postpone the appointment for a few weeks because she needed to save up the money for the pre-procedure medication. Over recent years we have seen charges for blood tests becoming common. Many GP practices are now being purchased by larger medical groups, which would be run on a for-profit basis. This is likely to continue and this type of situation is likely to become more common. We need centralised GP contracts. We need to have an audit of these charges faced by medical card patients.

Moving towards the ending of the two-tier system is the aim of Sláintecare, to which the Government remains committed. I heard the Minister mentioning this this morning on the radio. Part of this plan includes augmented medical card eligibility, increased entitlement to GP care, a reduction in prescription charges, and a GP contract manifesto to support chronic disease management.

Will the Minister of State confirm there will be no price to pay by medical card patients for this type of medication and by people who must obtain blood tests?

If a person is entitled to a medical card, he or she should not have to shoulder the burden of increased charges before facing into a procedure that can only add to the stress on him or her.

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