NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR A TEST
HSE reacts after families charged €50 per referral
IRELAND’S health chief and the HSE have said patients should not be charged for out-of-hours Covid-19 assessments – saying free testing is ‘fundamental’ to managing the pandemic.
The message comes after several families were charged by out-of-hours GP services for Covid test referrals.
Currently anyone who comes down with coronavirus symptoms
is entitled to a free phone consultation and test.
However, people who experience symptoms on weekends or outside of regular doctor hours are being wrongly charged up to €50 for the consultation.
The situation is fuelling concerns patients will put off seeking a test until they can access their GP for free, possibly spreading the virus in the meantime if they have it.
At least seven families contacted one councillor to complain that K Doc, the out-of-hours Kildare medical service, is charging €50 for referring people for the test.
Kildare is one of three midlands counties under lockdown after a coronavirus spike, and parents are concerned that their children may have the virus.
One woman, Isobel Fletcher from Newbridge, told the Irish Daily Mail that she was on the phone for no more than four minutes with K Doc before being charged €50 for a referral for her 11-year-old son.
‘I was very much taken aback because I always expected that these referrals for Covid-19 would be free of charge,’ she said.
‘I rang K Doc over the weekend when my son got sick and I was especially concerned since we’re now back in lockdown.
‘It was clear that he had symptoms and I just wanted to know whether he should be tested or not. I paid the money anyway because what other choice had I?
‘I was only on the phone for no longer than three or four minutes before it was all over and done with. I didn’t really question it at the time, but it was only when I checked the HSE website that I became very confused.
‘It clearly says there should be no fee for a GP referral, but doesn’t say whether it’s different for outof-hour services.’
Reacting yesterday, acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said nobody should be charged for a Covid-19 assessment or test as they are ‘fundamental’ to managing this pandemic.
He said that if people are concerned that they have Covid-19, ‘they should have an assessment with a GP and they should be able to get a test without any charge’.
‘That has to be fundamental in the management of this pandemic,’ he told last night’s National Public Health Emergency Team briefing.
A HSE spokeswoman said last night that testing should be free through out-of-hours services.
‘An agreement was reached with GP representatives in March 2020, to ensure people who were experi
‘They may decide to wait a bit longer’
encing coronavirus symptoms have access to free GP Covid assessments and coronavirus tests,’ she told the Mail. ‘This agreement was extended in June to ensure patients could access referral, without charge, on Saturdays and Sundays through the GP out-ofhours services. ‘Our message to people is: if you develop symptoms of coronavirus (fever, cough, difficulty breathing, loss or change in your taste or smell), self-isolate and phone your GP or GP out-of-hours service straight away.
‘The GP will assess you over the phone and can arrange a coronavirus test. Your test and GP assessment are free of charge.’
Kildare Social Democrats councillor, Chris Pender, said that at least seven families contacted him to complain that K Doc had charged them for referring them for a coronavirus test.
‘They’re saying nobody should postpone getting tested, but the Government announced this lockdown on a Friday evening when everyone’s GPs were closed – so many people had no choice but to ring an out-of-hours service,’ he told the Mail. ‘According to the HSE website, referrals aren’t supposed to cost anything and even if out-of-hours services do charge, €50 seems very steep.’
Cllr Pender said that it was mostly young families who had contacted him to complain.
He added that the cost could act as a deterrent to getting a test, especially for families financially impacted by the pandemic.
‘Some families simply don’t have €50 at the moment. When they hear of a charge, they may decide to wait a few days and go to their own GP or they may decide not to get tested at all,’ he said.
‘We are at a crucial time at the moment in trying to stop the spread of the virus in the midlands and community transmission is going to be the key issue.’
Several people in other counties said they have also been charged for coronavirus testing referrals by out-of-hours services, and doctors are now urging the HSE to extend
free Covid-19 testing across nights and weekends.
K Doc did not reply to a request for comment by the time of going to print last night. A person handling calls for K Doc referred our query to two senior managers who were contacted by email.
Meanwhile, as 57 more Covid-19 cases were confirmed yesterday, Dr Glynn raised alarm at declining physical distancing standards as he urged a renewed national effort to defeat the pandemic.
On the issue of people mingling too closely together on streets, he said: ‘I would ask people to... just give yourselves the space.’
Of the new cases confirmed yesterday, there was progress for locked-down Laois – as it did not record any new cases.
However, 19 cases were located in Kildare, 11 were in Dublin, and Offaly had ten. The rest were in Limerick, Clare, Cork, Galway, Kerry and Wicklow.