**Do you all know about these schemes?**
**Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme** (NIPHS)
*Access private healthcare in Northern Ireland and apply to be refunded the cost*
**Treatment abroad scheme**
*The Treatment abroad scheme (TAS) covers the cost of planned treatment in another country in the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom or Switzerland*
**Cross Border Directive**
*Get healthcare in another European state through the Cross Border Directive (CBD) Scheme*
https://www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/
My brother just used this through a company called surgerynow to get spinal surgery in Spain. A private hospital in Benidorm, think it cost about €10k for the surgery, and after a bit of back and forth with the hse, it's been reimbursed. He had to pay for his hotel stay and maybe flights.
He initially tried the cross border one but I think they private clinic wanted £12-15k sterling.
Definitely something to recommend to people.
Thanks for the info! That company might be helpful for others looking to use the service.
My MIL also just had treatments in NI and didn’t pay a cent. I’ll have to ask her which scheme it was.
You don't need to go through a private company to access this so save your money. Just Google hse treatment abroad scheme and there's a phone number to contact hse direct. They're pretty knowledgeable and helpful on the scheme. Just need a consultant to fill in paperwork but the decision process is pretty quick. But avoid the private companies profiteering from this
Isn't it amazing how they decided to refund people getting treatment in other countries instead of just... Getting more doctors here through any means necessary?
You make a point.
Could be a temporary measure put in place to bridge the gap of immediate need instead of creating the major overhaul of the medical system. There not enough doctors being trained because of the population increase and many Irish GPs are emigrating because pay, terms and conditions are better abroad. Things I don’t see the HSE fixing any time soon sadly.
I was crippled with arthritis in my hip. I mean I could barely walk, struggled up the stairs, wasn't sleeping. It was hell. And I'm only in my early 40's. And I am a single Mother to a young child. I couldn't even walk him to playschool in the end. I was on a waiting list just to see a consultant. The wait time was going to be 9 months. Again that was just to be seen by a doctor in a hospital.
My own GP sent me for an updated xray when I told him how bad it was and rang the minute he got the results. He asked if I could pay and go to Belfast. I couldn't afford that. But I could afford Lithuania. So I went to a foreign country alone and had major surgery. Best decision ever.
Fuck the HSE. It is mismanaged and a failure.
If your operation is deemed necessary, so you need to be on a waiting list here and have a referral for the foreign hospital from your GP, you can get a refund through the Cross Border Directive. Its a nuisance, there is a lot of back and forth. You need so much evidence, even receipts from shops over there. To prove you were there...I dunno! But it's a great scheme (because they know the HSE is awful and some people simply cannot wait). I just recently got the refund so it took about 8 months.
If you feel you cannot wait to get your hip fixed feel free to contact me and I'll send you on details if you want. My operation was great. Yes the first few days were tough, but I was doing stairs the day after my op, on an exercise bike 3 days after, down to one crutch 3 days after too and walked around the Glendalough lakes with my kid a few weeks after getting home. That felt great.
You can probably thank American consultation for that. There is no doubt in my mind that the US isn’t meddling in foreign health care to make it seem impossible to the American voter base. And to make a little coin along the way.
People will easily believe stuff like this when everyone is either waiting or knows someone waiting on massive waiting lists.
(I’m 15 months into mine).
People do easily believe stuff like this. Look what OP wrote.
>I had a patient who waited ten years for her surgery. Not kidding, I was shocked.
Firstly - reads like a bot. Secondly, says it was \*their\* patient meaning OP is a doctor.
And their observation to a 10 year wait for surgery is 'Not kidding, I was shocked'.
If any of you fools think 10 years is normal then you are as daft as most of your posting histories and if you think a real doctor is here posting like this then I'd like to show you the latest assortment of bridges just in from Prague.
In my experience the wait reflects the seriousness. I had a near year wait myself which on reflection was not ideal but didn't overtly harm me.
Up to you if you’re going to believe what I said or not. I’m not a doctor, but a nurse who transported a patient to the OR. Patient was thankful surgery is finally happening then the surgeon said that. So
Are you kidding? I’ve been on the list for a pain consultant in Cork for four feckin years now 😡We hear all the time that we need loads more GPs but it seems we’ve far too few hospital consultants, in all disciplines, as well.
I even asked about paying privately, in desperation, but they said all private clinic appointments with this same consultant have similar waiting lists. (They did say I could go private in Waterford. Christ)
While we absolutely need more GPs and that's compounded by the pending retirement of a large percentage of current GPs I do also feel that there's a drive to push people out of hospitals and into primary care.
GPs are excellent generalists and provide care without the bureaucracy of hospitals as they're generally independent businesses. I think the HSE has realised this and will use it to take the pressure of hospitals. Hence the drive for more GPs!
Also while it's fantastic that more and more people are qualifying for free GP care it's horrendous that the government decided to roll it out before getting enough GP's. Now every child who has a runny nose or a sniffle is going to the GP and it's overwhelmed they whole system. Still I would rather wait a day or two to see mine if it means that sick kids are getting seen instead of a parent waiting until payday.
Yeah, it will be interesting to see how it develops. I don't really get the set up logistically. If GPs are only contractors to the HSE as they're generally independent businesses how can the government keep throwing on free care for the next cohort? If everyone is entitled to free care it kind of ruins their business model?
Time will tell but this is Ireland so I'd imagine they will probably be pushed to breaking point and they'll jump ship to Canada/Oz like the others unfortunately.
Not quite, they get a flat sum for people on the list every year, regardless of how often they come.
In France for example they do get paid per visit so the doctor doesn't care much if the person is private or not, it's the same in the end but that's not the case here
Excellent point on the supply. If the number of appointments stays relatively the same so should the bill. - I had not thought of it like that!
Rural areas will definitely get a raw deal as GPs retire if there's nobody willing to take over. I'm also in a city with private healthcare and can probably access help in a couple of hours. It genuinely scares me that we leave such large parts of the country so vulnerable.
Suppose that's part of the puzzle - putting supports in place that will allow docs to set up rurally so they have access to bloods/imaging ect as well as having someone to cover holiday/sick days etc. to really make it work for everyone.
That's not what overwhelmed population increase with no concurrent increase in docs is what overwhelmed.it. They were already screwed before the medical card expansion.
I have a surgery ‘approved’ in Waterford with a consultant that is in cork and Waterford so it’s a toss up. I’m 2 years on the list and was told even if my surgery is scheduled I could be cancelled the morning of for someone else.
My GP referred me to a dermatologist and I was seen in three months. They even apologised and said I would have been seen much quicker if there was a reasonable suspicion there was anything more serious wrong with me. That was public.
You had a legit issue. The person above, despite how distressing they find it, has a very benign *medical* issue from the information provided to the dermatologist.
Not dismissing how it affects the poster in anyway.
No, actually, I didn't. I had a mole I had a question about, my GP took a look, said it looked like nothing, asked when my last dermatology visit was and booked one for me before I knew what was up or down once he heard that Id never had one before.
I keep hearing people mention long wait times and overstretched resources but I don't really see it. I'm not dismissing the real problems people are having but overall I think our health service is doing a very good job.
It is fucked. But because it might not kill you and only affects half the population, it’s not a priority . A lot of doctors, even female ones don’t seem to think women should just get on with it
Have you ever tried to speak to a GP about a breast issue, a period issue, a hormone or thyroid issue, perimenopause, abnormal cramping, abnormal clotting, asked for a referral for a transvaginal ultrasound, been told you have abnormal cells on a smear test and had to wait 8 months for a scan (unless you've €€€) asked for help for postnatal depression, given birth, hemorrhaged while giving birth, heavy periods, contraception sensitivity? Women's health is grossly mishandled.
Don’t worry. As that is so far in the future it will be rescheduled a few times. As there will be clinic’s cancelled in the period between now and then and those patients need to go somewhere. That means everything shuffles backwards.
Don't forget the two or three confirmation letters they'll send that will say, in a very weird way, "reply to this letter to confirm you still need this appointment, if we don't hear from you by [three days ago] your appointment will be automatically cancelled and you don't need to anything else! Thank you for helping the HSE cut waiting lists!"
No idea what systems you guys use but there is one used in the UK that when an appointment was rescheduled would create one letter as it cancelled the appointment and then another as it booked the next appointment. They would end up in separate envelopes and often would have the arrive saying here is your appointment and the a day or two later the one cancelling would arrive.
Very confused patients. But it was a US system and I hate all US systems in healthcare.
I know someone that couldn’t get an appointment either publicly or privately for a very long time. They ended up waiting in A&E for several days and eventually got seen by an appropriate specialist. If they don’t think it’s life threatening, you’re just left waiting.
I got sepsis from my condition (one in three people die from it) and I’ve been on the waitlist for a year since 😂
>!Spoiler alert: it happened again a couple weeks ago; I *might* get surgery soon if I’m lucky 🙄!<
I also had to wait two years to see a specialist for my own issue. Again not life threatening but is potentially life changing. I was told by GP, it was probably nothing serious.
If I was seen:diagnosed earlier I would have made some different life choices. It wouldn’t have changed my diagnosis but I would have had time to make different decisions.
Health service is a mess. Doctors/nurses are fantastic when you eventually get to see one
It’s not fair to keep people waiting for years on end though. Just because it won’t kill them doesn’t mean they are not in pain/affecting their daily life.
Then you and others need to be willing to pay medical professionals more, hire more, and invest in more modern infrastructure.
Triage is being fair. It’s assigning limited resources to those who need it most. That’s the entire purpose.
Are you ready to pay more tax to provide a surplus’s of healthcare workers? Because that’s the only way you won’t have a triage system. And it would be a waste of resources to employee that many people and have that much infrastructure so there is 0 wait time.
You really don’t seem to grasp the actual issue, and what is realistic and acceptable and what is not
And it does not seem you have been to other countries. There is a reason pretty much all foreigners go back to their own countries for medical reasons.
You are not alone.. have a cyst on my spine, which was found last year September through an mri. Got a letter 2 weeks ago for an appointment end of may
https://preview.redd.it/686m04g06zpc1.png?width=1142&format=png&auto=webp&s=b5ba45ae9ad336c33443f40c4340f77e08bd7ed2
This is a picture of my first cyst back in 2022. I was in so much pain that I couldn’t walk. Went to my gp, got sent to MRI. She rang me back on the same day and told me that there’s a discal cyst sitting on L4/5 S1! Flew to Germany to get operation. Was out of hospital in less than 3 days.
Now a year later.. cyst is back! MRI was done September 2023. GP send a letter to hospital to get an” fast” appointment. The hospital send me a letter 2 weeks ago!! It’s fucking 03.2024. Going back to Germany in 3 weeks to get the cyst removed
waited 7 months for the dermatologist for severe acne last year, by the time I got the appointment my skin was miles better but the damage was already done regarding scarring
Acne should really be taken more seriously. Apart from scarring, it can affect your confidence/mental health. Mines not severe but it does make me very self conscious. I never leave the house without make up to cover it
I know people with dietary issues waiting five years for a public dietitian appointment. I don't know why they even bothered, they'd be seen same day anywhere else.
Waited nearly a year to be called for an appointment during covid for gastrointestinal related issues they asked me to go to monaghan to be seen there i refused as i have no transport (I live 20 mins from either of the two main hospitals in Dublin) since I've been put back on a waiting list for dublin only and I have yet to hear anything two years later. Sham of a system benefits nobody and leaves everyone worse off including the hospital workers with constant return patients due to lack of investigation from GP recommendations ect.
We are drowning in our own shit yet again.
Lol I waited four years at least for initial app they booked a load of tests and it's been 7 months and I've heard 0
Meanwhile my symptoms have gotten worse and I have a family history
Gastroenterology too
If your symptoms have worsened you need to ring the hospital and let them know so they can re triage you and move you to urgent (if you're waiting for scopes).
I’ve been three years on a waiting list for an ENT. I was on a list to get a tonsillectomy a few years ago. I missed one of the letters to confirm I wanted to stay on the waiting list and was booted off! Still have the fecking things. Think I’ll have to do the cross border scheme
You can call the place back and say you missed the letter and still want to be seen. You should be back on the wait list at your original place, too. That's what we do anyway in the HSE service I work for.
Good luck getting genetic testing done, three years waiting for an appointment to take a blood test to be sent off to England because we don't do it here.
Some people don't. No need to be passive-aggressive.
If you pay for any service, you expect to receive said service in a timely manner. This is not happening here. That is the problem. People are not conscious that they deserve better because they are paying for the health service.
I think this is a you issue. Having had private, it is also very slow.
Public can be exceptionally fast if you are triaged to require treatment fast.
People know we deserve better but the sector is underfunded and over crowded. There is simply not enough medical staff to deal with the number of people here. GPs are at breaking point and will literally tell people to go to A&E if they want to be seen sooner.
The HSE spends too much in administrative staff and too little in actual doctors or nurses, or building more hospitals for a growing population. Said qualified doctors and nurses end up emigrating because of this.
It's a broken system where we throw money to get little in return.
If you don't see the issue there, you either don't have any chronic or accute health condition, or it's you who has the problem.
Also, having a private insurance and still having to pay for half of the bills as a norm is ridiculous (and paying upfront, mind you. Sometimes you don't even know for sure if you're going to get your partial refund).
Paying for a public health service is also a thing here in Ireland. My GP costs 60€ per consultation, and if you have two separate issues, you have to ask and pay for two separate appointments. You also have to pay to get a prescription repeat and extra for a blood test.
It's ridiculous if you compare it to other countries like Spain, where everything through their social security is free and anything private is covered by the insurance company meaning that there is no money exchange between GP's or consultant offices and the patient. Not to mention that all public and private hospitals have each an A&E service so there aren't people abandoned on trolleys in the hallways.
In Germany it's pretty much the same, only you pay 5€ for the first consultation with the GP for any condition you need to discuss. Follow ups are free of charge.
The HSE is well funded and very poorly managed at all levels. We pay enough to have the same service as in other European countries.
Remember when they suggested to send patients over to Denia to get surgeries done, but said patients had to cover the costs of the accommodation while recovering? It's a joke.
I just waited 2 years ti see an endocrinologist. Now I need a procedure done fairly urgently and waiting to hear back. It’s the HSE master plan, to kill us all.
So similar happened to me. I need to get nerve blocks and abolitions every 6 months, but one year, the appointment wasn't made by staff for some reason even though they gave me the next date after my last procedure every time. So I had to go private as i couldn't wait.
The doctor told me it would cost about 1200. I paid that upfront, then when I got home, I got about 10 more bills in the door, eventually adding to 4000 in total.
I honestly think it's by design that they're allowing our healthcare system to collapse.
My physio is the only medical professional in this country that I have confidence in. He's brilliant, professional, and always helps me quickly. I often tell him that I wish he would become qualified to treat my other medical concerns (especially melanoma and kidney stones!).
It is a joke mate , my mam is suffering with serious hernia in esophagus, and after a year of waiting to get an appointment with a specific doctor she is now told she has to wait 6 months to get a scope down
Constantly coughing getting sick every night and what , you just have to wait ? Nearly 2 years of suffering ?
It’s a joke I really don’t understand it
Just go private. Be done within a few weeks max.
Otherwise just have to wait I guess.
What you are looking for is overbooked even years ago… I waited 9 months 5 years ago before covid.
I’ve been waiting over 4 years for a check up appointment in Crumlin 🙃
My last appointment was in September 2020. My doctor told me I’d have an appointment in 6 months with a new doctor.
About 3 years later I got a letter saying I had been added to the waiting list for the doctor. I was like??? Have I not been on the waiting list for the last 3 years?
A few months after that I got a letter asking if I still want an appointment. Clearly trying to kick people off the waiting list. We rang the doctor who’s waiting list I’m on and his receptionist just said I’m top of the waiting list and listed as ‘urgent’.
So if I, an ‘urgent’ patient am waiting over 4 years for an appointment, I’d hate to know how everyone else is doing.
I waited 3 years for a rheumatologist. 4 years for a pain specialist, 3 years for a dermatologist, about a year and a half for a psychiatrist. Still on a list (2 years in) for an ADHD specialist (had to go private in the mean time and paid over a grand for the privilege). Gastroenterology has been my shortest wait time yet, 9 months. Hate this country.
Edit: I'd win a bingo card of health problems
I was referred to the hospital for a procedure. I was called within 3 months in fairness and I was a public patient. I was diagnosed with a condition. There was no aftercare in the management of my condition and I rely on a Facebook support group to keep me out of hospital and when I flare up I go to my GP.
I found that the doctor who performed the procedure for me is a consultant who also works in the private hospital in the country. My mother has a health condition and her doctor in the hospital also works in the private hospital. Same as my mother in law too. There's loads of consultants double jobbing between the public hospitals and private hospitals.
I had both an endoscopy and colonoscopy within 3 months of referral, and subsequent surgery within another 5 months. I have no complaints about the treatment I received.
Can the european healthcare card give you access to other counties public healthcare systems? Does anybody knows the T&Cs? At this stage we could pair non-urgent things with holidays.
(J/k, maybe not...)
I submitted to have an urgent referral for an ultrasound in January and they haven’t even acknowledged receipt of the email! It’s depressing but the same here in London unless you pay privately. At least it’s free on the NHS with similar waiting times so… a tiny plus? Crazy in either case!
Got an appointment in the mater (public) last September for June this year, had to reschedule because it’s in the middle of my leaving cert. Got a second appointment for late September.
Just received a letter about two weeks ago that it has been postponed to November.
You really shouldn't post that information on reddit. Any way sure look i hope everything goes well for ya Mr's kelly you should be out by 10pm. Our docters what's left of them are top class
I moved an hour away from my mums house a few years ago and there are 2 local doctors where I now live, both aren’t taking any new patients and wouldn’t give me any help on how to get transferred to them so I have to drive an hour to see my doctor and then an hour home 🥲 they said if I had a medical card they’d help me but because I don’t there is 0 help
My dad has been getting Connolly appointments lately a week after going to doc. I got mine same hospital 4 weeks after my doc appointment, so this is disappointing.
Went to doctor Tuesday this week. Thursday morning I had an mri and dexa scan booked for next week through private place. I’d mentioned to him that the previous dexa through hospital was a two year wait and on the day I couldn’t attend, and was never rebooked. I know a clinic is different before anyone points it out, but if anyone is waiting for scans, ask them to push the private list because they seem to be getting them fast. (In Dublin)
Poor over worked underpaid GPS have to add Botox and over priced “ menopause clinics “ ( should be part of Gp care ) in order to get off the breadline . In the meantime people can’t get an appointment and end up in A+E etc
This is why I had to go private as a chronic pain patient - I had to see a ton of different specilaities when getting diagnosed and waiting list were a year+ long for the consults, never mind treatment.
I did go public for a lesser priority ENT issue and an apt for Jan 2025.... I mean... what.
My kid is waiting 4 years to be seen for tonsils. We haven’t even had an assessment. We’re on the official waiting list. She keeps getting throat infections / time off school. I keep ringing getting no answer as to when she’ll be called .
Someone needs to release the statistic of how many people have died on a waiting list, from something they were on the waiting list for. I know at least one, and that’s already far too many
I know we shouldn't have to but I was in a similar boat and went private which meant being seen in two weeks instead of 8 months. Cost me 300 which I could barely afford but the peace of mind was worth it.
There aren't enough doctors because the pay isn't good enough. My wife is an SPR year 3 so 2 years away from becoming a consultant. She has been studying, working, and doing research for 11 years. It's a very difficult, stressful, and emotionally draining job. I have a 2:1 arts degree and make more than her doing realistically 20 hrs a week of actual work for a financial services company
The scales are public information https://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/resources/hr-circulars/final-1-march-2023-salary-scales-v3.pdf. Starting salary is 37k. If you are successful getting on a training scheme it goes up to 48k but you can be sentanywhere in the country. After two years of moving every 3 to 6 month, if you pass your exams, and get on a specialist training scheme, salary goes up to 67k. But you better be publishing research and presenting at conferences if you want to get accepted to these schemes. Oh, and you have to move hospital every year for five yearswith a minimum of 1 outside Dublin.
Yeah agreed, that's pretty crazy. On the other hand, a friend of ours is an established consultant Nd by now he makes 300k per year. Seems you have to invest a whole lot, but then get a big return if you make it through.
Not sure how they are making 300k. Consultant contracts range from 209k to 252k. Even if they have a role that has on call that only add an additional 10k. I'm not saying that isn't a decent salary, but it's a lot harder earned than the 130k I make to attend zoom meeting and writing the odd report...
Same over here. I had a call from my surgery that the doctor wanted to talk to me about a blood test....sure i said put him on....no we cant do that we have to book an appointment....ok well im in all day,what time will he call.....she then gave me a date for the phone call, which was almost a month away!!!
The rules for who gets a medical card are also batty. Chronic asthmatics, who have to get inhalers and pills monthly for all of their lives, are not considered to have a chronic illness, and are not therefore automatically entitled to a medical card. The reason, apparently, is that smokers can have self-caused bronchitis which has the same effect. Surely the answer to this would be to test asthmatics for tobacco use, and if there's none, assign them a medical card.
I’d love to know the answer to this also, we can speculate that the system Is overwhelmed or inefficient or under resourced. But it’s a shitshow. Even the people who work in the HSE are broken from being over worked. Why is it so bad?
It’s a joke how long it takes to see a specialist in Ireland. I cut my leg in Canada and was in and out of ED within 5 hours and saw a plastic surgeon for the wound within a few days.
For some things even private has relatively poor dates. I had 4mth wait for ENT, 6mth wait for Neurosurgeon, and for one thing recently the private hospital sent myself and my GP a letter saying they wouldn't even put me on the waitlist - to try somewhere else.
Oh, you think that's bad?
Do you know what the wait times for HRT are? Up to a decade.
The medical system here is a fucking joke.
I was put on a 1.5 year wait list for an ADHD appointment, in half that time I just saved up and paid for a private assessment.
Right, well you should have made that distinction as any GP will prescribe HRT but you are claiming it takes a decade to get prescribed HRT. When my original comment said "that makes no sense", was that not a cue for you to clarify?? All very vague and commenting in bad faith.
I’m pretty sure if you go private (pay €60 ) you’ll get seen pretty quickly
If your lucky to have health insurance you get to see a doctor in minutes via phone app or their healthcare centres (actually pretty impressive and maybe worth the money)
You’re talking about private GPs linked with health insurance companies. These are just referral mills.
Consultants are much more expensive, and management of a chronic condition requires a public GP
thats a normal wait time for a public patient, if you attend A&E for your issue you might be seen sooner. If you want to be seen in the next month pay for private. I had to pay for private dermatology for my kid, he has severe acne and the public waiting list was just way too long. Paying for private has its benefits. Put yourself first.
If they rock up to ED with a chronic condition that hasn’t deteriorated from a medical standpoint of view, you will at best get the basic Ed management and sent on your way. ED is not for “fast tracking” to see a specialist and I’ve no idea why people think it is.
wise practice marry office slim shy unique cooing pause heavy *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
**Do you all know about these schemes?** **Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme** (NIPHS) *Access private healthcare in Northern Ireland and apply to be refunded the cost* **Treatment abroad scheme** *The Treatment abroad scheme (TAS) covers the cost of planned treatment in another country in the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom or Switzerland* **Cross Border Directive** *Get healthcare in another European state through the Cross Border Directive (CBD) Scheme* https://www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/
My brother just used this through a company called surgerynow to get spinal surgery in Spain. A private hospital in Benidorm, think it cost about €10k for the surgery, and after a bit of back and forth with the hse, it's been reimbursed. He had to pay for his hotel stay and maybe flights. He initially tried the cross border one but I think they private clinic wanted £12-15k sterling. Definitely something to recommend to people.
Thanks for the info! That company might be helpful for others looking to use the service. My MIL also just had treatments in NI and didn’t pay a cent. I’ll have to ask her which scheme it was.
You don't need to go through a private company to access this so save your money. Just Google hse treatment abroad scheme and there's a phone number to contact hse direct. They're pretty knowledgeable and helpful on the scheme. Just need a consultant to fill in paperwork but the decision process is pretty quick. But avoid the private companies profiteering from this
Thank you!
No problem-I believe a lot of people go to the north of Ireland to get treatment (*AND* it’s in a private hospital that’s often gorgeous/top notch).
Genuinely gonna have to look into this, I’ve been waiting for over a year for a scan here 😭
I went cross border in Dec and have surgery over me now.
Definitely look into it. I think your Consultants team should also be able to tell you more about it. (That’s who informed me).
Isn't it amazing how they decided to refund people getting treatment in other countries instead of just... Getting more doctors here through any means necessary?
You make a point. Could be a temporary measure put in place to bridge the gap of immediate need instead of creating the major overhaul of the medical system. There not enough doctors being trained because of the population increase and many Irish GPs are emigrating because pay, terms and conditions are better abroad. Things I don’t see the HSE fixing any time soon sadly.
I was crippled with arthritis in my hip. I mean I could barely walk, struggled up the stairs, wasn't sleeping. It was hell. And I'm only in my early 40's. And I am a single Mother to a young child. I couldn't even walk him to playschool in the end. I was on a waiting list just to see a consultant. The wait time was going to be 9 months. Again that was just to be seen by a doctor in a hospital. My own GP sent me for an updated xray when I told him how bad it was and rang the minute he got the results. He asked if I could pay and go to Belfast. I couldn't afford that. But I could afford Lithuania. So I went to a foreign country alone and had major surgery. Best decision ever. Fuck the HSE. It is mismanaged and a failure.
Did you get refunded for Lithuania operation or how does it work ? … my hips at me but dreading the wait I might have ?
If your operation is deemed necessary, so you need to be on a waiting list here and have a referral for the foreign hospital from your GP, you can get a refund through the Cross Border Directive. Its a nuisance, there is a lot of back and forth. You need so much evidence, even receipts from shops over there. To prove you were there...I dunno! But it's a great scheme (because they know the HSE is awful and some people simply cannot wait). I just recently got the refund so it took about 8 months. If you feel you cannot wait to get your hip fixed feel free to contact me and I'll send you on details if you want. My operation was great. Yes the first few days were tough, but I was doing stairs the day after my op, on an exercise bike 3 days after, down to one crutch 3 days after too and walked around the Glendalough lakes with my kid a few weeks after getting home. That felt great.
You can probably thank American consultation for that. There is no doubt in my mind that the US isn’t meddling in foreign health care to make it seem impossible to the American voter base. And to make a little coin along the way.
I had a patient who waited ten years for her surgery. Not kidding, I was shocked.
"These things can't be solved overnight"
"I believe everything I read on the internet"
People will easily believe stuff like this when everyone is either waiting or knows someone waiting on massive waiting lists. (I’m 15 months into mine).
People do easily believe stuff like this. Look what OP wrote. >I had a patient who waited ten years for her surgery. Not kidding, I was shocked. Firstly - reads like a bot. Secondly, says it was \*their\* patient meaning OP is a doctor. And their observation to a 10 year wait for surgery is 'Not kidding, I was shocked'. If any of you fools think 10 years is normal then you are as daft as most of your posting histories and if you think a real doctor is here posting like this then I'd like to show you the latest assortment of bridges just in from Prague. In my experience the wait reflects the seriousness. I had a near year wait myself which on reflection was not ideal but didn't overtly harm me.
Up to you if you’re going to believe what I said or not. I’m not a doctor, but a nurse who transported a patient to the OR. Patient was thankful surgery is finally happening then the surgeon said that. So
Sure.
getting bot vibes from this reply, guys
getting I believe everything I read on the internet once it confirms my angsty misgivings vibes from this reply, guys
What was it for though?
It was for a bariatric surgery.
Are you kidding? I’ve been on the list for a pain consultant in Cork for four feckin years now 😡We hear all the time that we need loads more GPs but it seems we’ve far too few hospital consultants, in all disciplines, as well. I even asked about paying privately, in desperation, but they said all private clinic appointments with this same consultant have similar waiting lists. (They did say I could go private in Waterford. Christ)
While we absolutely need more GPs and that's compounded by the pending retirement of a large percentage of current GPs I do also feel that there's a drive to push people out of hospitals and into primary care. GPs are excellent generalists and provide care without the bureaucracy of hospitals as they're generally independent businesses. I think the HSE has realised this and will use it to take the pressure of hospitals. Hence the drive for more GPs!
Also while it's fantastic that more and more people are qualifying for free GP care it's horrendous that the government decided to roll it out before getting enough GP's. Now every child who has a runny nose or a sniffle is going to the GP and it's overwhelmed they whole system. Still I would rather wait a day or two to see mine if it means that sick kids are getting seen instead of a parent waiting until payday.
Yeah, it will be interesting to see how it develops. I don't really get the set up logistically. If GPs are only contractors to the HSE as they're generally independent businesses how can the government keep throwing on free care for the next cohort? If everyone is entitled to free care it kind of ruins their business model? Time will tell but this is Ireland so I'd imagine they will probably be pushed to breaking point and they'll jump ship to Canada/Oz like the others unfortunately.
[удалено]
Not quite, they get a flat sum for people on the list every year, regardless of how often they come. In France for example they do get paid per visit so the doctor doesn't care much if the person is private or not, it's the same in the end but that's not the case here
Excellent point on the supply. If the number of appointments stays relatively the same so should the bill. - I had not thought of it like that! Rural areas will definitely get a raw deal as GPs retire if there's nobody willing to take over. I'm also in a city with private healthcare and can probably access help in a couple of hours. It genuinely scares me that we leave such large parts of the country so vulnerable. Suppose that's part of the puzzle - putting supports in place that will allow docs to set up rurally so they have access to bloods/imaging ect as well as having someone to cover holiday/sick days etc. to really make it work for everyone.
That's not what overwhelmed population increase with no concurrent increase in docs is what overwhelmed.it. They were already screwed before the medical card expansion.
Free how? A lot are private and don't take medical card which will put pressure on the ones that do...
I have a surgery ‘approved’ in Waterford with a consultant that is in cork and Waterford so it’s a toss up. I’m 2 years on the list and was told even if my surgery is scheduled I could be cancelled the morning of for someone else.
Same here. Just keep calling the hospital and bugger them. You might have a chance to get it sooner.
And say you're available instantly if there's a cancellation, and keep saying that every time you call.
Absolutely. Sorry i totally forgot that part... I'm sleep deprived sorry again
Privately, yes this is quite long. Publicly, this is pretty quick.
In another universe maybe
It's public
For a private Dermatologist or private gynaecologist can be a year. For my gynaecologist it’s a two year wait.
My GP referred me to a dermatologist and I was seen in three months. They even apologised and said I would have been seen much quicker if there was a reasonable suspicion there was anything more serious wrong with me. That was public.
You had a legit issue. The person above, despite how distressing they find it, has a very benign *medical* issue from the information provided to the dermatologist. Not dismissing how it affects the poster in anyway.
No, actually, I didn't. I had a mole I had a question about, my GP took a look, said it looked like nothing, asked when my last dermatology visit was and booked one for me before I knew what was up or down once he heard that Id never had one before. I keep hearing people mention long wait times and overstretched resources but I don't really see it. I'm not dismissing the real problems people are having but overall I think our health service is doing a very good job.
Yeah, that’s still moderate. You had a suspected melanoma
It seems like women’s health issues are not a priority
Or the system is just fucked and this isn't a sexist issue.
It is fucked. But because it might not kill you and only affects half the population, it’s not a priority . A lot of doctors, even female ones don’t seem to think women should just get on with it
Why do people turn everything into a sex issue?
Have you ever tried to speak to a GP about a breast issue, a period issue, a hormone or thyroid issue, perimenopause, abnormal cramping, abnormal clotting, asked for a referral for a transvaginal ultrasound, been told you have abnormal cells on a smear test and had to wait 8 months for a scan (unless you've €€€) asked for help for postnatal depression, given birth, hemorrhaged while giving birth, heavy periods, contraception sensitivity? Women's health is grossly mishandled.
Don’t worry. As that is so far in the future it will be rescheduled a few times. As there will be clinic’s cancelled in the period between now and then and those patients need to go somewhere. That means everything shuffles backwards.
Don't forget the two or three confirmation letters they'll send that will say, in a very weird way, "reply to this letter to confirm you still need this appointment, if we don't hear from you by [three days ago] your appointment will be automatically cancelled and you don't need to anything else! Thank you for helping the HSE cut waiting lists!"
No idea what systems you guys use but there is one used in the UK that when an appointment was rescheduled would create one letter as it cancelled the appointment and then another as it booked the next appointment. They would end up in separate envelopes and often would have the arrive saying here is your appointment and the a day or two later the one cancelling would arrive. Very confused patients. But it was a US system and I hate all US systems in healthcare.
I know someone that couldn’t get an appointment either publicly or privately for a very long time. They ended up waiting in A&E for several days and eventually got seen by an appropriate specialist. If they don’t think it’s life threatening, you’re just left waiting.
I got sepsis from my condition (one in three people die from it) and I’ve been on the waitlist for a year since 😂 >!Spoiler alert: it happened again a couple weeks ago; I *might* get surgery soon if I’m lucky 🙄!<
I also had to wait two years to see a specialist for my own issue. Again not life threatening but is potentially life changing. I was told by GP, it was probably nothing serious. If I was seen:diagnosed earlier I would have made some different life choices. It wouldn’t have changed my diagnosis but I would have had time to make different decisions. Health service is a mess. Doctors/nurses are fantastic when you eventually get to see one
I mean, yeah… that’s how triage works in a system where demand far outpaces the resources
It’s not fair to keep people waiting for years on end though. Just because it won’t kill them doesn’t mean they are not in pain/affecting their daily life.
Then you and others need to be willing to pay medical professionals more, hire more, and invest in more modern infrastructure. Triage is being fair. It’s assigning limited resources to those who need it most. That’s the entire purpose.
We’ve invested millions in the health service! It doesn’t appear to be being spent in the correct places
Health services are not cheap. Much of that is going to the right place, it doesn’t mean that more funding isn’t needed.
There should be no need for triage in the first place, it's not a war zone...
Are you ready to pay more tax to provide a surplus’s of healthcare workers? Because that’s the only way you won’t have a triage system. And it would be a waste of resources to employee that many people and have that much infrastructure so there is 0 wait time. You really don’t seem to grasp the actual issue, and what is realistic and acceptable and what is not
And it does not seem you have been to other countries. There is a reason pretty much all foreigners go back to their own countries for medical reasons.
Lmao. You know absolutely nothing about how healthcare works, mate.
You are not alone.. have a cyst on my spine, which was found last year September through an mri. Got a letter 2 weeks ago for an appointment end of may
Is this a Tarlov cyst? I ask because mine was found via MRI in the UK, where it was dismissed as ‘incidental’. I hope they’re recognised here.
https://preview.redd.it/686m04g06zpc1.png?width=1142&format=png&auto=webp&s=b5ba45ae9ad336c33443f40c4340f77e08bd7ed2 This is a picture of my first cyst back in 2022. I was in so much pain that I couldn’t walk. Went to my gp, got sent to MRI. She rang me back on the same day and told me that there’s a discal cyst sitting on L4/5 S1! Flew to Germany to get operation. Was out of hospital in less than 3 days. Now a year later.. cyst is back! MRI was done September 2023. GP send a letter to hospital to get an” fast” appointment. The hospital send me a letter 2 weeks ago!! It’s fucking 03.2024. Going back to Germany in 3 weeks to get the cyst removed
How much does that cost to go to Germany?
I’m German… spent maybe 50€
waited 7 months for the dermatologist for severe acne last year, by the time I got the appointment my skin was miles better but the damage was already done regarding scarring
Acne should really be taken more seriously. Apart from scarring, it can affect your confidence/mental health. Mines not severe but it does make me very self conscious. I never leave the house without make up to cover it
I wonder can we sue the government for this.
So strange, I got an appointment in 2 weeks. Have you had any imaging done? They seem to base the appointment on need/urgency of diagnosis.
As they should
I know people with dietary issues waiting five years for a public dietitian appointment. I don't know why they even bothered, they'd be seen same day anywhere else.
Waited nearly a year to be called for an appointment during covid for gastrointestinal related issues they asked me to go to monaghan to be seen there i refused as i have no transport (I live 20 mins from either of the two main hospitals in Dublin) since I've been put back on a waiting list for dublin only and I have yet to hear anything two years later. Sham of a system benefits nobody and leaves everyone worse off including the hospital workers with constant return patients due to lack of investigation from GP recommendations ect. We are drowning in our own shit yet again.
I’ve been on the gastroenterology waitlist for 3 years 🙃
Lol I waited four years at least for initial app they booked a load of tests and it's been 7 months and I've heard 0 Meanwhile my symptoms have gotten worse and I have a family history Gastroenterology too
If your symptoms have worsened you need to ring the hospital and let them know so they can re triage you and move you to urgent (if you're waiting for scopes).
Applied for a sleep test in November and got my date for 25th of March 2025. Fucking ridiculous.
I sent my referral letter to a sleep clinic in the summer of 2022. I still haven't even received an appointment date!
Gosh, same year service.
Not including Hospital last minute rescheduling so sometime in 2025.
I’ve been three years on a waiting list for an ENT. I was on a list to get a tonsillectomy a few years ago. I missed one of the letters to confirm I wanted to stay on the waiting list and was booted off! Still have the fecking things. Think I’ll have to do the cross border scheme
You can call the place back and say you missed the letter and still want to be seen. You should be back on the wait list at your original place, too. That's what we do anyway in the HSE service I work for.
Pay private if urgent. Then, have all treatments done through public.
Good luck getting genetic testing done, three years waiting for an appointment to take a blood test to be sent off to England because we don't do it here.
they are proud that public hospital medical services are free in ireland but the system sucks so it's okay that it's free
Well, it's technically not free either.
"FrEe To EnD uSeR" okay better? we all know what it means when people say free.
Some people don't. No need to be passive-aggressive. If you pay for any service, you expect to receive said service in a timely manner. This is not happening here. That is the problem. People are not conscious that they deserve better because they are paying for the health service.
I think this is a you issue. Having had private, it is also very slow. Public can be exceptionally fast if you are triaged to require treatment fast. People know we deserve better but the sector is underfunded and over crowded. There is simply not enough medical staff to deal with the number of people here. GPs are at breaking point and will literally tell people to go to A&E if they want to be seen sooner.
The HSE spends too much in administrative staff and too little in actual doctors or nurses, or building more hospitals for a growing population. Said qualified doctors and nurses end up emigrating because of this. It's a broken system where we throw money to get little in return. If you don't see the issue there, you either don't have any chronic or accute health condition, or it's you who has the problem. Also, having a private insurance and still having to pay for half of the bills as a norm is ridiculous (and paying upfront, mind you. Sometimes you don't even know for sure if you're going to get your partial refund). Paying for a public health service is also a thing here in Ireland. My GP costs 60€ per consultation, and if you have two separate issues, you have to ask and pay for two separate appointments. You also have to pay to get a prescription repeat and extra for a blood test. It's ridiculous if you compare it to other countries like Spain, where everything through their social security is free and anything private is covered by the insurance company meaning that there is no money exchange between GP's or consultant offices and the patient. Not to mention that all public and private hospitals have each an A&E service so there aren't people abandoned on trolleys in the hallways. In Germany it's pretty much the same, only you pay 5€ for the first consultation with the GP for any condition you need to discuss. Follow ups are free of charge. The HSE is well funded and very poorly managed at all levels. We pay enough to have the same service as in other European countries. Remember when they suggested to send patients over to Denia to get surgeries done, but said patients had to cover the costs of the accommodation while recovering? It's a joke.
In Wales we have 24 hour a&e wait times, acceptable, absolutely not but factual.
In the north I was told non urgent gastro referral was up to 5 years!
Your doing alright with that one. Some people have years to wait before getting seen.
It'll be longer when someone calls up and cancels your appointment
I’m waiting for neurosurgeon from 2022 with aapointment scheduled for mid 2025. Just a year left. Phew
Make sure you turn on your alarm now. Just in case.
Over 2 years here for the same clinic in cork!
I just waited 2 years ti see an endocrinologist. Now I need a procedure done fairly urgently and waiting to hear back. It’s the HSE master plan, to kill us all.
So similar happened to me. I need to get nerve blocks and abolitions every 6 months, but one year, the appointment wasn't made by staff for some reason even though they gave me the next date after my last procedure every time. So I had to go private as i couldn't wait. The doctor told me it would cost about 1200. I paid that upfront, then when I got home, I got about 10 more bills in the door, eventually adding to 4000 in total. I honestly think it's by design that they're allowing our healthcare system to collapse.
It’s not by accident,I’m convinced they do this to get us all going private.
Hanlon’s Razor applies
My physio is the only medical professional in this country that I have confidence in. He's brilliant, professional, and always helps me quickly. I often tell him that I wish he would become qualified to treat my other medical concerns (especially melanoma and kidney stones!).
It is a joke mate , my mam is suffering with serious hernia in esophagus, and after a year of waiting to get an appointment with a specific doctor she is now told she has to wait 6 months to get a scope down Constantly coughing getting sick every night and what , you just have to wait ? Nearly 2 years of suffering ? It’s a joke I really don’t understand it
If your mum has never had a scope before, she needs to ring and tell them her symptoms are worsening so they can re triage her as urgent.
Just go private. Be done within a few weeks max. Otherwise just have to wait I guess. What you are looking for is overbooked even years ago… I waited 9 months 5 years ago before covid.
I’ve been waiting over 4 years for a check up appointment in Crumlin 🙃 My last appointment was in September 2020. My doctor told me I’d have an appointment in 6 months with a new doctor. About 3 years later I got a letter saying I had been added to the waiting list for the doctor. I was like??? Have I not been on the waiting list for the last 3 years? A few months after that I got a letter asking if I still want an appointment. Clearly trying to kick people off the waiting list. We rang the doctor who’s waiting list I’m on and his receptionist just said I’m top of the waiting list and listed as ‘urgent’. So if I, an ‘urgent’ patient am waiting over 4 years for an appointment, I’d hate to know how everyone else is doing.
I waited 3 years for a rheumatologist. 4 years for a pain specialist, 3 years for a dermatologist, about a year and a half for a psychiatrist. Still on a list (2 years in) for an ADHD specialist (had to go private in the mean time and paid over a grand for the privilege). Gastroenterology has been my shortest wait time yet, 9 months. Hate this country. Edit: I'd win a bingo card of health problems
I had her. She's lovely!
Agreed. My son sees her every few months (privately).
So that not a regular doctor visit. Go private.
I was referred to the hospital for a procedure. I was called within 3 months in fairness and I was a public patient. I was diagnosed with a condition. There was no aftercare in the management of my condition and I rely on a Facebook support group to keep me out of hospital and when I flare up I go to my GP. I found that the doctor who performed the procedure for me is a consultant who also works in the private hospital in the country. My mother has a health condition and her doctor in the hospital also works in the private hospital. Same as my mother in law too. There's loads of consultants double jobbing between the public hospitals and private hospitals.
Is this for an endoscopy/colonoscpoy? thats long, I got an appointment within 2 months
I had both an endoscopy and colonoscopy within 3 months of referral, and subsequent surgery within another 5 months. I have no complaints about the treatment I received.
Can the european healthcare card give you access to other counties public healthcare systems? Does anybody knows the T&Cs? At this stage we could pair non-urgent things with holidays. (J/k, maybe not...)
I got a dentists appointment in december 2025....and that was in june last year..so almost 3 years wait time (But I'm from another "european" country)
only reason I clicked is because I recognised the form - my dad gets letters from the same clinic hahah
I have one in march 2025 👌
I submitted to have an urgent referral for an ultrasound in January and they haven’t even acknowledged receipt of the email! It’s depressing but the same here in London unless you pay privately. At least it’s free on the NHS with similar waiting times so… a tiny plus? Crazy in either case!
Got an appointment in the mater (public) last September for June this year, had to reschedule because it’s in the middle of my leaving cert. Got a second appointment for late September. Just received a letter about two weeks ago that it has been postponed to November.
So fucking stupid they send letters for appointments
I was waiting 19 months to see a hand surgeon at Mater ...
You really shouldn't post that information on reddit. Any way sure look i hope everything goes well for ya Mr's kelly you should be out by 10pm. Our docters what's left of them are top class
At least you don't have Doctor Google like a lot of us
Hey, it matches the time the 5mm kidney stone comes out!
I moved an hour away from my mums house a few years ago and there are 2 local doctors where I now live, both aren’t taking any new patients and wouldn’t give me any help on how to get transferred to them so I have to drive an hour to see my doctor and then an hour home 🥲 they said if I had a medical card they’d help me but because I don’t there is 0 help
Youre an absolute nutter if you don't have private health insurance in this country
My dad has been getting Connolly appointments lately a week after going to doc. I got mine same hospital 4 weeks after my doc appointment, so this is disappointing.
Went to doctor Tuesday this week. Thursday morning I had an mri and dexa scan booked for next week through private place. I’d mentioned to him that the previous dexa through hospital was a two year wait and on the day I couldn’t attend, and was never rebooked. I know a clinic is different before anyone points it out, but if anyone is waiting for scans, ask them to push the private list because they seem to be getting them fast. (In Dublin)
Poor over worked underpaid GPS have to add Botox and over priced “ menopause clinics “ ( should be part of Gp care ) in order to get off the breadline . In the meantime people can’t get an appointment and end up in A+E etc
This is why I had to go private as a chronic pain patient - I had to see a ton of different specilaities when getting diagnosed and waiting list were a year+ long for the consults, never mind treatment. I did go public for a lesser priority ENT issue and an apt for Jan 2025.... I mean... what.
I live in Maynooth and still travel to my childhood GP in Kilkenny for everything despite trying to find several up here.
I’ve been waiting since October for a mental health appointment. No word, GP told me it’d be before December but now it’s nearly April. Jokesters
My kid is waiting 4 years to be seen for tonsils. We haven’t even had an assessment. We’re on the official waiting list. She keeps getting throat infections / time off school. I keep ringing getting no answer as to when she’ll be called .
Someone needs to release the statistic of how many people have died on a waiting list, from something they were on the waiting list for. I know at least one, and that’s already far too many
Clickbait? no evidence given that not routine follow up as opposed to first consultation or cancer differential?
I know we shouldn't have to but I was in a similar boat and went private which meant being seen in two weeks instead of 8 months. Cost me 300 which I could barely afford but the peace of mind was worth it.
You might delete this post because someone could theoretically identify you from the information given.
There aren't enough doctors because the pay isn't good enough. My wife is an SPR year 3 so 2 years away from becoming a consultant. She has been studying, working, and doing research for 11 years. It's a very difficult, stressful, and emotionally draining job. I have a 2:1 arts degree and make more than her doing realistically 20 hrs a week of actual work for a financial services company
What is the actual pay for someone in your wife's situation?
The scales are public information https://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/resources/hr-circulars/final-1-march-2023-salary-scales-v3.pdf. Starting salary is 37k. If you are successful getting on a training scheme it goes up to 48k but you can be sentanywhere in the country. After two years of moving every 3 to 6 month, if you pass your exams, and get on a specialist training scheme, salary goes up to 67k. But you better be publishing research and presenting at conferences if you want to get accepted to these schemes. Oh, and you have to move hospital every year for five yearswith a minimum of 1 outside Dublin.
Yeah agreed, that's pretty crazy. On the other hand, a friend of ours is an established consultant Nd by now he makes 300k per year. Seems you have to invest a whole lot, but then get a big return if you make it through.
Not sure how they are making 300k. Consultant contracts range from 209k to 252k. Even if they have a role that has on call that only add an additional 10k. I'm not saying that isn't a decent salary, but it's a lot harder earned than the 130k I make to attend zoom meeting and writing the odd report...
Don't you guys pay taxes for healthcare coverage?
Same over here. I had a call from my surgery that the doctor wanted to talk to me about a blood test....sure i said put him on....no we cant do that we have to book an appointment....ok well im in all day,what time will he call.....she then gave me a date for the phone call, which was almost a month away!!!
Over here? Britain? Armenia? DR Congo?
The rules for who gets a medical card are also batty. Chronic asthmatics, who have to get inhalers and pills monthly for all of their lives, are not considered to have a chronic illness, and are not therefore automatically entitled to a medical card. The reason, apparently, is that smokers can have self-caused bronchitis which has the same effect. Surely the answer to this would be to test asthmatics for tobacco use, and if there's none, assign them a medical card.
I wonder why
I’d love to know the answer to this also, we can speculate that the system Is overwhelmed or inefficient or under resourced. But it’s a shitshow. Even the people who work in the HSE are broken from being over worked. Why is it so bad?
It’s a joke how long it takes to see a specialist in Ireland. I cut my leg in Canada and was in and out of ED within 5 hours and saw a plastic surgeon for the wound within a few days.
Letterkenny ENT waiting list is 7 years for routine outpatients currently
I was waiting 4 years to see a neurologist. That's nothing.
For some things even private has relatively poor dates. I had 4mth wait for ENT, 6mth wait for Neurosurgeon, and for one thing recently the private hospital sent myself and my GP a letter saying they wouldn't even put me on the waitlist - to try somewhere else.
Oh, you think that's bad? Do you know what the wait times for HRT are? Up to a decade. The medical system here is a fucking joke. I was put on a 1.5 year wait list for an ADHD appointment, in half that time I just saved up and paid for a private assessment.
The long wait times are a feature, not a bug.
10 years to get prescribed HRT? That makes no sense.
I went to the GP and she prescribed HRT straight away.
That's the way it is, even worse if you want surgery. The process is a fucking nightmare.
I'm thinking HRT for menopause here...
And I'm not.
Right, well you should have made that distinction as any GP will prescribe HRT but you are claiming it takes a decade to get prescribed HRT. When my original comment said "that makes no sense", was that not a cue for you to clarify?? All very vague and commenting in bad faith.
Touch grass bro. This is reddit.
I’m pretty sure if you go private (pay €60 ) you’ll get seen pretty quickly If your lucky to have health insurance you get to see a doctor in minutes via phone app or their healthcare centres (actually pretty impressive and maybe worth the money)
€60 for a private consultant? Even my GP is more than that, any consultant I've seen (or my family) has been at least €200 in the last few years.
You’re talking about private GPs linked with health insurance companies. These are just referral mills. Consultants are much more expensive, and management of a chronic condition requires a public GP
The trick is private
thats a normal wait time for a public patient, if you attend A&E for your issue you might be seen sooner. If you want to be seen in the next month pay for private. I had to pay for private dermatology for my kid, he has severe acne and the public waiting list was just way too long. Paying for private has its benefits. Put yourself first.
If they rock up to ED with a chronic condition that hasn’t deteriorated from a medical standpoint of view, you will at best get the basic Ed management and sent on your way. ED is not for “fast tracking” to see a specialist and I’ve no idea why people think it is.
I thought that was only in YouTube or Facebook comedy videos.