The Peoples opinion on the Irish Public Health System

J

Jaid79

Guest
Let us all know of your experiences "good" and "bad"? with regard to the Irish public health system.

In my opinion, the Irish public health system is the worst in Europe and maybe one of the worst in the world.
 
In my experience the Public Health system is OK - but could be better. I have had experience of the system in the UK - I lived there for most of my life.
Myself and my wife and our 4 children do not have any private health insurance - partly because of the cost and partly because I have a built in dislike of the idea of money getting you better / faster treatment.
In the UK - private health insurance is used by the minority. Here in Ireland over half the population have been persuaded to take out insurance. I had private cover for about 4 years in the UK because my employer gave it to me - I had no choice.
Luckily here in Ireland we have had nothing major happen to us - but we have had a few visits to casualty, and a few appointments with consultants. Overall - compared to the UK - I feel the system is as good , maybe better. Waiting times in casualty were not too bad - couple of hours maybe less. Consultant appointments have been reasonable in terms of delays - but nothing too bad. An MRI scan for my son was transferred to a private hospital under the Treatment Purchase Fund - at no cost to us because we were waiting 3 months. I don't know if this scheme is being used to it's full extent all over the country - but people should be told about it and push for it to be used more. It is supposed to be "automatic" .
The visit to the private Hospital (Galway Clinic) - was an eye opener. It is like a hotel. Grand piano in the foyer, landscaping, no queuing, nice cafe,carpets. It showed me that there is a 2 tier system and that the Public health system - whilst coping - needs to be better.

There was an article in the Irish Times recently by a consultant I think - and she was saying that she feels that doctors and consultants could be actually trying to make the public health system worse - in order to drive more people over to the private system and therefore increase their income.
When the major health insurer is a semi state body - it makes you wonder what the government would prefer?
The UK NHS system - free for all - is a great idea but they are struggling. I would hate to think that the Irish system is heading towards the system in the US where health insurance is essential if you want healthcare.

GP's here seem less rushed - and we have always got to see a GP on the same day we call them. In the UK we often had to wait a day or 2 to be seen! Yes it was free in the UK - and the fee here soon mounts up with a family - but the GP visit card or Medical card (we don;t qualify for either) are a good help for many people.
Prescription charges can also be expensive - but the 85 euro cap per month for a family stops it getting too bad.

In terms of Nursing Homes - we have direct experience of these - both Private and Public - because one of us has worked in both. The Public ones we have seen are better equipped, better staffed and have generally better standards than the Private ones we have worked in. Of course - this is based on a small sample of nursing homes.

All my experiences in Ireland have been in the West. I understand that things might not be as good in Dublin or other large cities.
 
ClubMan said:
Moved from Good Deals,Bad Deals & Consumer Issues.


What precise comparative data do you base your opinion on?
Click to expand...

My opinion is based on mainly friends, family and my experiences of Irish, European and other world wide health systems.

Each person including myself have had the chance first hand to compare the Irish Public Health System directy with others. In every instance the Irish health system comes out bottom, from the simple little things to the most major.

My opinion is not based on any surveys or World Health Organisation facts and figures, it based on direct experiences. I do also think that there is a vast amount of data out there that would comfirm my opinion as correct and of sound judgement.

What I had hoped is that other AMM members would share their views and opinions. To see if indeed my friends, my family and I are only people that have been left with a less than good view of the HSE, I doubt it

I will start researching the data out there to see what I come up with.

What about you Clubman, what have your experiences of the Irish Public Health System?

Jaid
 
Jaid79 said:
My opinion is based on mainly friends, family and my experiences of Irish, European and other world wide health systems.
Click to expand...
Fair enough - it would have saved at least two posts if you had said all of this in the first place instead of just stating your opinion with no background.
What about you Clubman, what have your experiences of the Irish Public Health System?
Click to expand...
Yes - as an A&E patient twice, my wife with the Rotunda twice, my father with the Mater while terminally ill, my mother with a few other hospitals over the years etc. I/we had no major problems other than with the billing/administrative departments of a few hospitals.
 
i have been hospitalised 3 times over last 5 years (for non-emergency surgery and other tests) and each time was waiting for very short times, maybe 2 to 3 months at most. I don't have insurance and I don't believe i could have got better treatment anywhere else in Europe.

I think one of the main issues is not necessarily more beds, but having a quicker turn-around. Too many patients should be recuperating in convalescent homes rather than hospitals, and too many patients are taking up beds just waiting for an operation to be done which may only be done on certain days of the week. Doctors seem to be worried that beds will be gone when they need it, so they get their patients in earlier than need be and they have to sit it out.
 
Hi ALL
My Father passed away 10 years ago off cancer .We aways had VHI .The treatment my father recived was firat class.If we did not have VHI i feel he would not have got this level of treatment.Is this wrong ? YES But Ireland is following the USA , and i cant see this changing. My father in law passed away 4 weeks ago.His level of treatment was supberb.He had VHI. In the private sector hospitals most of the nurses are irish and the public most foreigners.All Nurses do a great job but the irish nurses are supberb.I have heard they get paid more may be this is the reason.
Cheers
!RAY
 
joe sod said:
Has this topic not already been beaten to death by the irish media
Click to expand...

and on this site...

To answer the OP, it's good but could be better. There is huge waste but there is huge waste in every public health system.
I don't accept that we have the worst health system in Europe, or even the EU.
I have had very good, average and very bad experiences with the health system. What I will say is that it's much better than it was 15 years ago. Treatment, training, facilities and waiting times are all better.
Irish people want to pay taxes like the Americans and get public services like the French. The bad (but obvious) news is that we can't have both.
 
I agree with Purple - I don't think we have the worst health system in the world and you can't pay nothing but have everything - I have VHI and all my experiences to date in Ireland have been fine

As an aside how is "best and worst" to be defined in this annecdotal survey? Is a hospital that cures you but treats you like crap better than a hospital that doesn't cure you but treats you very well?
 
As someone who worked in the NHS in UK for many years, and now working here, I feel there is huge waste here, particularly within the management structure - little accountabilty, lack of foresight and imagination, and knee-jerk reactions to public outcrys with managers constantly being promoted to other areas inthe HSE, therefore not implementing recommendations effectively, and other managers just waiting until they retire.
 
!RAY said:
My Father passed away 10 years ago off cancer .We aways had VHI .The treatment my father recived was firat class.If we did not have VHI i feel he would not have got this level of treatment.
Click to expand...
He would have received exactly the same medical treatment. He may have received different accommodation and may have had to endure longer waiting times for certain admissions/procedures.
 
Jaid79 said:
Let us all know of your experiences "good" and "bad"? with regard to the Irish public health system.

In my opinion, the Irish public health system is the worst in Europe and maybe one of the worst in the world.
Click to expand...

That kind of statement really makes me mad.
Try comparing having cancer with no health insurance in ireland compared to if you were in the USA or even the UK
 
There was an article in the English press today about a lady of 108 years being told she had to wait 18 months for an upgrade of her hearing aid!

On a personal level, I went to my GP because my back had jammed up and was told there was a 19 week waiting list to see an NHS physiotherapist.
(I have had spinal surgery four times.) Not surprisingly, I went to the local Chiropractic clinic and paid £27 (sterling) for each session to unjam it.

How do those two examples compare?
 


Accountabilty is a major issue and people that are actualy bad at their job seem to keep their job. The good thing about private sector, people that are not good at the job they do generally get sacked.

I`ll be going private in a private hospital from here on in, my family and I are just lucky that we can afford it.

I was in a public hospital one week ago. That hospital had a new wing on it that was filthy. One example was in the shower area. The builders pencil marks from four years ago where still on the wall. I counted eight lines in total. Why is the cleaners not sacked?
 
capall said:
That kind of statement really makes me mad.
Try comparing having cancer with no health insurance in ireland compared to if you were in the USA or even the UK
Click to expand...

Which statement and why?
 
joe sod said:
Has this topic not already been beaten to death by the irish media
Click to expand...

joe sod,

There seems to be members that have an intrest in this thread. So if it some thing you do not want to contrabute too, don't! Simple!

Jaid
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register