The annual Healthy Ireland survey paints a picture of a country that remains in rude health by European standards. Over 80 per cent of us say our health is good or very good, although two in five say they have a long-term health condition of which high blood pressure, arthritis, asthma and diabetes are the most common.
The survey is replicated across the EU each year and a sample of citizens are interviewed about how they perceive their health. The 7,398 Irish people who took part this year repeated the pattern of previous years coming in at the top of the range alongside Malta, Greece and Cyprus. The Irish result was well above the average of 67.9 per cent across Europe who said their health was either good or very good . Portugal, Latvia and Lithuania are at the bottom in the region of 50 percent.
On the face of it, the results of the survey would seem to have as much to do with national temperament and wider factors such as income and education levels as it does with the affordability of healthcare.
As anyone who has ever had to avail themselves of health care in another EU country via a European Health Insurance Card can attest, the cost of accessing services is generally much lower than at home.
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This is particularly true of access to GPs. The survey found that 79 per cent of Irish people visited a GP in the previous 12 months, but this rose to nearly 90 per cent for holders of full medical card and GP visit cards. They also visited far more frequently.
This differential points to a significant number of people who are choosing not to visit their GP, and the most obvious explanation is the cost of a visit which can range from €45 to €65 or more.
The consequences of this are not hard to predict and in many ways are more significant than what the report says about alcohol consumption and smoking. This tends to attract the most attention, but the number using these substances are either stable or declining.