Tipperary councillor questions 'unacceptable' move by HSE on hospital transport

Cashel Independent Councillor Liam Browne has called for a full statement by the HSE as to why vulnerable patients who require vital healthcare and medical appointments, have had previous entitlements to non-emergency transport removed without any explanation.

He is also demanding an immediate return of that transport to ensure no further medical damage is done to patients and future fears are allayed.

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In a statement to the press Cllr Browne said:

"In recent weeks I have been in contact with numerous constituents in my area, that have told me their previous entitlements to free transport to hospital appointments has been removed without any reason, and that this has placed huge stress and financial burdens upon them.

"They were recipients of the non-emergency patient transport service, which allowed them to get free transport to vital medical treatments and appointments.

"In trying to investigate this, I was faced with evasive answers firstly by the section which organises the hospital
transport system in Wexford and then by HSE management in Tipperary University
Hospital."

Cllr Browne said that he had "posed questions of them asking if the decision to remove the vital transport was made solely for financial reasons, and had any medical practitioner been part of the decision-making process.

"In their reply, they said that it was a financial decision based on budgetary concerns and that patients had been advised to contact the Department of Social Welfare if they couldn’t afford transport and try to get concessionary payments to help cover the costs.

"They also said that they had advised GPs to tell patients of their options if they needed transport to hospital."

In response to this, Cllr Browne made it clear that this was "totally unacceptable".

"First many of the patients affected are medically vulnerable and simply cannot hop on and off public transport in many cases, without the possibility of making their condition worse.

"Neither can they just hope that a Community Welfare Officer will give them a payment to pay for taxis or busses, and in many cases the CWO won’t do this because of their own budgetary concerns.

"On top of this, even if a patient could access public transport, many of their appointments are fixed at times which would not make it possible to attend with such transport. Early morning appointments for example.

"And it is the function of a GP to advise patients of medical concerns and appointments, it is not the function of a doctor to advise on public transport schedules. This is completely unacceptable."