Decisions on the sanctioning of medical cards is to be transferred to the HSE in Dublin, according to information received by Labour councillor Harry Barrett.
Cllr Barrett has found out that a decree is to be handed down by the HSE at national level to transfer within the coming weeks, for decision-making on medical card applications and other demand-led schemes, from primary care units around the country, to a central HSE facility in Finglas, Dublin.
Until now, applications for entitlements under these schemes in Mayo have been assessed and processed at local level, usually within a 10 to 15 day timeframe. Staff in primary care units have strong local knowledge and expertise, which, when combined with that of the community welfare officers, means quick decisions.
“As a public representative there are often instances where there would be added urgency to, say, a medical card application, because of a particular aspect of the applicant’s situation. When decisions are made locally, it is always possible to relay this information on to the official at local level, who more often than not would make some effort to have a decision fast-tracked. This will no longer be the case.
“Any claim that this decision has been made to save money does not stack up. The officials that are making these decisions at local level will simply be redeployed to other activities within the HSE, so just how this can represent a ‘saving’ is beyond me.
“This is another peculiar decision being made by the HSE which basically results in another service being removed further away from the citizen. It is a retrograde step for all concerned. This surely a bridge too far in the mad rush to ‘dial-up centralisation’,” said Cllr Barrett.
