Dr Hilary Jones - Ireland has no health service

[LadyEloise]

I'm cross. I'm very cross !
How can an educated man, a medic, state that the country next to his has no health service on national television.
A country that shares a border with the UK ( Northern Ireland ).
In reply to Piers Morgan about countries using different strategies to cope with the pandemic, Dr Hilary Jones says that Ireland has to do what its doing because it has no health service.

That is simply not true.

We have the Health Service Executive, with about 100,000 employed in it. Much of it is free. GP visits and prescription charges are means tested. All children under 6 and pensioners over 70 have free HP care.
He did apologise on Twitter but I think, to reach a wider audience he needs to go back on the show and state the facts.
Our Prime Minister is a medical doctor.
We have a national health service. There is a free Breast Check, Cervical check,Immunisations for children and teenagers, Bowel screening etc.

What a shame neither of the two presenters , Piers or Susanna Reid could refute his claims at the time.

It just makes me laugh how some people in England are still of the belief that the irish are drunk toothless morons who couldn't possibly have half the amenities they have. Like we havnt a braincell to rub together and we all live in shacks in the countryside 😂

It’s like Brexit all over again. The ignorance of Ireland by people in the UK is astounding.

It’s also dangerous for the spread of Corona as people will now believe the Irish prevention measures are needed because we’ve no health service and therefore they don’t need to follow similar measures.

I saw a thread here this morning about how lock down in the UK wouldn't work as "we're all to rebelliousto stick to it" rebellious wouldn't be the word I'd use

It's just the UK trying to justify bojos stupid mistake here.

He said it's largely a private service and you pay your GP every time you see them.

Is this correct?

Apologies for linking to The Sun.

www.thesun.ie/news/5211920/dr-hilary-ireland-no-health-service-covid-19/

We have no internet either. I am just banging two leprechauns sticks together and hoping this will post.

He meant a free service for all , if the guy has apologised for it then he will probably go on telly in the morning to apologise again he is not normally a deceptive person and usually pretty up on his facts.

He said it's largely a private service and you pay your GP every time you see them

No as a pp said its means tested. Some people pay.
Lots don't.
They have a medical card to cover all medical expenses. Some other people have a GP visitors card and don't pay either.

Deadringer
I'm screaming laughing

It is a common misconception in the UK to assume there is no free healthcare.
We Irish are always banging on about GP costs, over night hospital stays, A&E charges. If was a mistake on his part I thought the presenter's were idiots for not knowing either. He meant no harm I grew ip watching Dr Hillary.
Most of my friends and family now pay for health insurance cover, the HSE is a joke.

No as a pp said its means tested. Some people pay.
Lots don't
They have a medical card to cover all medical expenses. Some other people have a GP visitors card and don't pay either
Only really poor don't, Single parents or one parent working. DP and I work in average jobs him FT me PT we are not covered for free healthcare. DC under 7 are covered.

I actually wish I lived in Ireland sadly the UK
I stopped listening to DR Hilary years ago

Don't all European countries have a health service with universal coverage for everyone ? It is just different from the NHS.

EmeraldShamrock I agree, for a lot of countries health care systems aren't what they should be.
I personally have to pay for all my health care... But you shouldn't be on national TV speaking about somthing like this when you havnt got your facts straight.

@Notimeforaname it’s not private as you would think private is in US. Anyone on low income has free healthcare from gp to hospital, anyone under 4 or over 70 has free health care. In county Donegal which would be a low income county it is estimated that over 55% of people have free health care. Otherwise you do pay to go but if you have the means to do so.

So our health system has nothing to do with our response to a Corona which is the context he was discussing (aside from our lack of ventilators similar to the Uk hence our response to flatten the curve). In fact regarding number of ventilators per 100k of population Ireland is ranked 21st and UK ranked 22nd. So saying we need to put in place extreme measures because we have no health care system and the UK does is completely incorrect.

Tbf Piers usually only says stuff when he can shout and froth irish healthcare wasn't "sexy" enough for Piers bloody Morgan !

Sorry that should be @SuckingDieselFella not @Notimeforaname

It actually sounds like a good service to me and I had no idea it was run like that. Means tested. Free if you can’t afford it. Pay if you can. Can’t see the issues with that

Im irish and i rolled my eyes.
I was a single parent with a medical card for years and receieved excellent care for free, me, my kids, we all have asthma. I had a few breast checks.
I work now so i pay. Rightly so.
I DO PRAY OUR HSE CAN COPE THOUGH

i was reading ventilators in private hospitals might be commandeered somehow.

It is AMAZING how little English people know about ireland though. Amazes me all over again on a regular basis.

Aspoonfullofjam grand so, I was very confused there for a minute

Obviously it's not the best system by far but it's as fair as it can be.

I think it's time to stop all these ridiculous stereotyping of countries. There was someone on here from Ireland yesterday complaining that the 'English' were keeping their schools opening and endangering her. Someone else said that nobody in England cares about anything apart from the economy (how can she not have read the thousands of posts written by anxious MNers concerned about their families?). I was looking at a photo of a crowded Dublin bar taken at the weekend. And there were loads of Irish people over in Cheltenham last week.

The point is there are fools in every country. The English certainly aren't an exception. Idiot English boys in a ski resort I was in last week in the French Alps, were spitting on the street. I was so stunned I was speechless. More idiot English boys on the plane on the way home, getting drunk and coughing everywhere. Idiot Irish choosing to come to a crowded racecourse in England last week. Idiot Americans buying guns. Idiot Italians going to the seaside when the balloon went up. Idiot Belgians crossing the border when it was open to visit bars in the Netherlands, or was it the other way round? And so on and so on. Idiots everywhere, in every country, in every corner of the world.

I don't think it's a big deal really. I think we Irish can get very hung up on British opinion of us.

I can't see the French getting worked up if he made a comment on their health service.