‘If people have to travel, they will’
vitally important surgeries and treatments.
And the HSE is advising people to get on waiting lists ahead of Brexit if they want to avail of an EU-wide healthcare law that allows people in the Republic to get hip operations, cataract surgery and knee replacements in the North.
One of the main people involved in helping transport people to take the ‘cataract express’ bus to Belfast’s Kingsbridge Private Hospital said that his group is preparing alternative routes to help people after Brexit.
Jerry Harrington told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘Most of the people who are using the Cross Border Directive are from counties Cork and Kerry because these are the counties with the biggest queues for HSE care.
‘To get from these counties for care in Belfast, you are talking about a 16-hour round trip.
‘We are looking at things post Brexit and considering what are the options for treatment in places like France and Poland.’
The HSE’s helpline number is advising people to get on Irish
‘A lot of elderly don’t like flying’
Government waiting lists before 11pm on March 29, when Brexit comes into force – meaning Britain will no longer come under the EU’s health directive.
Under the EU directive, and the Treatment Abroad Scheme, Irish patients have the option of being treated in the North, and being reimbursed by the Irish State, if they are on a waiting list here or if the treatment is not available in the Republic.
Latest statistics released to the Irish Daily Mail show a big spike in use of the directive this year as people hurry to get treatment in the North before Brexit kicks in.
The Cross Border Directive scheme became popular after the Irish Daily Mail highlighted the case of the so-called ‘cataracts express’. And Mr Harrington, who is one of the main people involved, said elderly people will be willing to travel further afield by ferry to get treatment. He said: ‘A lot of elderly people don’t like flying, so it could potentially be a problem if Brexit does affect the scheme. You are talking about people who have waited years, often in pain, for operations and procedures they can’t get here.
‘But if they have to spend an extra day travelling, which is what treatment in France could mean for people who don’t want to fly there, they will do it.’
The monthly coach service run by volunteers transports elderly people stuck on waiting lists up to Belfast for cataract surgery. The inspiration for it is John Patrick Harrington, father of Jerry. The 90-year-old who had to endure the 1,000km round trip from Bantry to Belfast because he faced a four-year wait despite going blind.
However, if people do have to end up taking the ferry to France, they face ferry trips of between 14 and 20 hours depending on whether you travel from Dublin or Cork to Cherbourg. They then face a further two hours’ drive to the main hospital on Normandy, where cataracts and hip operations are carried out.
The ferry trip alone is around €300, depending on how far in advance you book.
The HSE is already warning people to move quickly to get on waiting lists here before the northern route gets shut down.
An Irish Daily Mail reporter called the HSE helpline about an elderly relative who suffers from diverticulitis, a painful swelling of the large intestine. They were advised to get on a waiting list for the service as soon as possible because the best service was a private clinic in Belfast.
‘You really want to be on a waiting list by March, when Brexit comes into force, because once you are recommended for Belfast while it is still part of the EU, you should be fine,’ the assistant said.
She said that there was an increasing number of people applying for the Cross Border Directive before March.
That is borne out in the latest statistics, obtained by the Irish Daily Mail. The figures show that the Irish State paid out €6.5million on Cross Border Directive in the first seven months of this year alone compared to €4.4million spent for all of 2017.
In 2015, just 150 people were reimbursed for treatment on the CBD, to a total of €542,106.
The HSE has not yet replied to a request for comment on Brexit’s possible effects on the CBD.
CONFUSION still reigns over what exactly Brexit will mean for Ireland. Even though there has been no shortage of talk about border issues, the impact on trade and so on, there is still very little clarity on what we can actually expect to happen.
That is bad enough in itself. However, it is arguably of even greater concern that we have heard virtually nothing on how Brexit will affect people’s everyday lives.
But now there is a deeply concerning sign of what may lie ahead. It emerged last year that John Patrick Harrington, then aged 90 and already blind in one eye, had to make a make a 1,000km round trip from his West Cork home to undergo cataract surgery on his good eye in Belfast.
Of course, the fact that he faced four years on a HSE waiting list for the same operation remains an absolute disgrace. But at least the medical fees were reimbursed within five weeks under the terms of the Cross Border Healthcare Directive. The same terms apply to patients waiting for hip and knee replacements.
One of the results was that Mr Harrington’s son Jerry started running monthly bus trips to the North for people who needed treatment. But as Britain’s departure from the EU looms, one of the alternatives being looked at is bringing people by ferry to France for surgery.
It is one thing for a young family to take a boat trip to the Continent for their holidays. It is another to expect an elderly individual to embark on the same journey to receive medical treatment.
This illustrates the very real consequences that are likely to come from Brexit. But none of this is being communicated to people by the relevant authorities. The lack of clarity simply isn’t good enough. Everyone involved in the negotiations must let us know what exactly is coming down the line.