CENTRALISATION OF MEDICAL CARD PROCESSING SHOULD BE HALTED
Issued : Tuesday 2 March, 2010
Labour Party Cllr. Ciara Conway has previously made a statement in relation to this issue and again I call on the HSE to take no further action on the centralisation of the processing of medical card applications . Until a root and branch review has been carried out into the preparations undertaken in advance of centralisation
Centralisation has caused confusion Since the system has been centralised there seems to have been a sharp increase in the length of time it is taking people applying for medical cards to have their claim processed. Also the centralisation has caused confusion and unnecessary hardship to many who are applying. As far as people over the age of 70 are concerned, securing a medical card is the single biggest concern that they have, and thanks to the botched centralisation process, trying to get their application processed has become their single biggest source of stress. Vulnerable people who are in need of medical cards may not receive them. Nearly a year ago a unilateral decision was made to centralise all medical card applications and renewals. The medical card system was previously based around the local health care providers who made decisions on a case by case basis. This system was effective because those who were making decisions had a personal knowledge of the applicants and their needs. The new centralised system doesn't have this advantage and this could mean that vulnerable people who are in need of medical cards may not receive them. Always passing the buck The public is finding it extremely difficult to contact the medical card section and when they do finally manage to talk to someone the person they find is often not the person in charge of their case. There is a genuine need for a root and branch review to investigate this situation. Another example of how the government is hollowing out the state, no one is accountable always passing the buck !
