Sir, – After reading “Minister says medical card backlog will be cleared in April” (Home News, February 23rd) I wish to tell you how I’ve found the medical card application process: complicated, illogical and inefficient.
Having moved back to Ireland after two years overseas, I am in the process of re-applying for a medical card for my 11-year-old son, Tom, who has cystic fibrosis.
Sufferers of chronic illnesses are entitled to a medical card in order to help with the treatment cost, which in many cases is prohibitive. For example, Tom’s medication costs around €3,000 per month, not including hospital admission, clinic visits, doctors or consultants.
I was advised to cancel Tom’s medical card when we moved away, and, although the old card would have still been valid now, I have had to re-apply for a new one.Initially one is not able to apply for a card on the grounds of chronic illness; you have to make an application for the whole family, on financial grounds, giving proof of income and expenses. I have absolutely no desire for a medical card for the rest of the family as I am well able to take care of our medical expenses. However, the correct process has to be followed. I already know that our application will be refused on financial grounds, so I am now awaiting the reply from the HSE who will tell me that my application has failed, after which I will have to appeal, with a doctors’ report outlining Tom’s treatment, and only then will the application be accepted and Tom issued with a medical card.
It is not surprising that such an inefficient system has resulted in appalling backlogs. There should be a separate application process specifically for people with chronic illnesses, which would shorten times for medical card approval for those who most desperately need it. And it would perhaps be a more cost-effective option for the HSE than hiring 20 additional staff. – Yours, etc,