Newly elected Athlone Town Councillor Jim Henson has added his voice to the Labour party’s scathing reaction to the Bord Snip proposal to take medical cards from all but those on the lowest social welfare payments.
The party’s spokesperson on Health, Deputy Jan O’Sullivan, had earlier said the move would be devastating for low-income families for whom the medical card is a life-line, a sentiment which Henson shares.
Commenting on An Bord Snip’s proposal Cllr Henson stated: “I fully endorse the view that Health policy is supposed to be encouraging people to seek care in the community rather than the acute hospital system which is much more costly to the taxpayer. Taking away their medical cards will have the opposite effect. Parents in Athlone, as elsewhere, will put off taking their sick child to the family doctor and more will end up in hospital. For the residents of Athlone, this means travelling for miles to Ballinasloe, Tullamore, or Mullingar, which for many will not be easy.
“The charge to visit A&E has already gone up dramatically – from €15.24 in 1997 to €100 in 2008. If the A&E charge is increased to €125, it will be simply unaffordable. And then comes An Bord Snip proposals about medical cards - another example of where low- and middle-income families in Athlone and throughout the country may put off getting the help they need because of the costs involved. That could have devastating results for some.”
Concluding Henson stated, “We need a system, which is the norm in most countries, where primary care is available and affordable.
“It seems that highly-paid people at the top of the HSE and of the medical profession are untouched while the most vulnerable bear the pain yet again”.
