Pensioner told 8 years for eye operation

An 82 year old in need of cataract surgery has been given an operation date of July 2031, by which time he told the HSE he “would probably be in the departure lounge”.

The pensioner is a constituent of Cork Socialist Party TD Mick Barry who brought the case to Dáil Éireann on Tuesday.

Addressing the Taoiseach, Deputy Barry said his constituent was then asked by a HSE employee over the phone if he was planning on going on a holiday on the given date.

“My constituent laughed a little bitterly, ended the telephone call and rang yours truly,” said the Cork North-Central TD.

“We are here today to discuss that situation but, more broadly, as of April, there were 40,000 people on waiting lists for eye surgery in the state.

What action does the Taoiseach intend to take to remedy this situation?”

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was “genuinely sorry” to hear about his constituent’s experience but suggested that the operation date may have been issued in error.

He said: “The policy we have set out in Sláintecare is that nobody should have to wait more than 10 to 12 weeks to see a specialist if they need to see one, or more than 10 to 12 weeks to have an operation if they need it.

“I do not know about the individual circumstances of the case the deputy raised but it is possible that the letter was an error.

“To get an appointment in 8 years’ time would not be typical or anything near the normal waiting time for cataract treatment.”

In late 2017, as an answer to long eye surgery waiting lists in Ireland, Independent Cork TD Michael Collins, along with Kerry TD Danny Healy Rae, began organising busses to take Cork and Kerry patients to Belfast where they could be operated upon under the Northern Ireland Health Care Initiative. Since then, over 100 buses have made the 1,000km journey north.

Mr Varadkar continued: “On what we are doing, we are expanding the additional public services, including in Cork. The deputy will be familiar with the developments that are happening there with the new theatre.

“The National Treatment Purchase Fund is also an option. We regularly pay for people to go privately and have their operations done. Going cross-border is another option; people can travel to another EU country and the Government will reimburse them fully, not for their travel costs but for the cost of their consultations and operation.

“There is also an arrangement with Northern Ireland so there are many different options.”

We understand that people would like to have their operations done as close to home as possible.”