Hospital bill - WWYD

[Dk20]

Not an AIBU but want to know WWYD.

In Ireland, we've been allowed to have socially distanced garden visits if someone lives less than 5km from you.

Me and ds visited dsis and her ds. The kids were playing in the garden, they bumped into each other while running and my dsis ds fell and cut his head. He had to go to a&e which resulted in a hospital charge for them.

Dsis has said not to worry as accidents happen with children, but I feel like I should pay for at least half of the hospital bill. In my situation WWYD?

Well this has been an eye opener for me. I've never struggled getting a GP appointment for me or the kids when we have needed them, same day where needed, I had no idea it cost so much in Ireland.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland - it's swings and roundabouts. We pay more for some stuff, less for others. We have higher tax but generally incomes are higher. Social welfare is also much higher in Ireland.

Don't know whether to laugh or cry at the poster near the start of the thread who seemed to think that we use € in N Ireland.

Definitely cry. No excuse for that level of ignorance

Every day is a school day!! I never knew they charged either.

Yes I would pay.

Was it temple street op?

You don’t have to pay immediately as they’ll bill you. Was only there a little while ago myself and handed in cash, lady almost fell off her chair.

@EarringsandLipstick I find it more than irritating, it’s ignorant. Learn your history people.

Here's a list of things that are different about the ROI for those interested;
-As stated two tier health system
-Min wage is now €10.10
-Child benefits is not means tested/capped and is €140 PER child- unless you have twins/triplets at which point it's 210 per child.
-No water bills
-No council tax
-No zero hour contracts- certain rules apply and employees must be paid a basic rate essentially.
-You can apply direct to ANY school- no catchments as such
-School starting age is anywhere from age 4 to 6 (mixed ages in a class)
-School day is shorter 9.00-1.40 for the first 2 years and 9.00-2.40 thereafter
-Parents buy ALL of the school books and stationary for their children (or use a rental scheme)
-no free school meals (only in deprived areas and they are NOT cooked meals)
-We have an extra year in primary school.
-University is heavily subsidised (was practically free)
-our fiscal year is the normal calendar year (not April to April)

nowaitaminute Good to educate the masses.

Might be worth mentioning that

Ireland is part of the EU
Ireland's currency is the Euro
-Parents buy ALL of the school books and stationery for their children (or use a rental scheme)
On this point, there is a grant for low income families - about €250 given at the start of the school year
There's not really any such thing as student loans. You either get a grant (low income families) or your parents pay/you get a part-time job.

It's a relatively equitable health system in Ireland. Those who are unemployed, get a full medical card (covers everything). Slightly higher but still low income and you'll get a GP only card. Those who are higher earners get private medical insurance. Usually subsidised at the very least (if not paid in full), by your employer.

The ones who slip through the net a little are the middle of the road earners - slightly above the low income bracket, but can't afford health insurance.

I've never struggled getting a GP appointment for me or the kids when we have needed them, same day where needed

I'm in London and it takes at least 3 weeks to get an appointment, unless you ring at 8am for the free for all mania that involves trying to get a same day appointment. My record was 56 calls from 8am to get through. This was prior to COVID obviously. Now you simply get a telephone consultation.

There's a heck of a lot wrong with Ireland, but the same can be said of every country. Lord, Boris won a massive majority. Makes you think?

All children Under 6 are entitled to a medical card so there shouldn't be an A&E charge.
Also we're not allowed visit houses outside until the 8th June in Ireland.

ColonelNobbyNobbs
Wow I never knew they charged for repeats, what, even over the phone?

Most charge €20 for repeats, no need for a consultation, some don't charge at all.
They can give up to six months for private prescriptions depending on the meds.

Mine didn’t do over the phone repeats. So would get 6 months at a time but have to go at least twice a year at €60 a go. Plus whatever the prescriptions cost which was about the same. Dublin pricing - maybe it’s changed in the last couple of years though?

@2littleguineas that is not the case...children under 6 get a GP VISIT card and are charged at a&e for sure...mine had a few visits. If the parents are entitled to a medical card then I'm sure the children are too... and any child with the following diseases and disabilities -mental handicap, mental illness, phenylketonuria, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida, hydrocephalus, haemophilia and cerebral palsy.

@whocanibe2day oh yes I forgot about the back to school grant.

The other random fact I live about Irish university life is that we all go home every weekend 🤣🤣🤣🙈

[quote nowaitaminute]@2littleguineas that is not the case...children under 6 get a GP VISIT card and are charged at a&e for sure...mine had a few visits. If the parents are entitled to a medical card then I'm sure the children are too... and any child with the following diseases and disabilities -mental handicap, mental illness, phenylketonuria, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida, hydrocephalus, haemophilia and cerebral palsy.[/quote]
@nowaitaminute
I think I mentioned upthread that any child in receipt of domiciliary care allowance gets a full medical card.
So, no matter what diagnosis (or lack of) the child has, if you can pass the criteria for domiciliary care allowance - proving your child has significant care needs above those of another child their age - then you are entitled to DCA, the carers support grant and a full medical card for the child.
The application for DCA is difficult with many being refused though.

Not sure how common this is across the country, but in my DS primary school they use as few books as possible. My DS has one book (religion), and then we pay toward a license so they do their Irish through the interactive white board and pay towards photocopying for other activities, so 60euro in all for the year. It's part of aistear being rolled out into primary schools, and finding other ways of teaching/learning rather than from a book.

We are probably going to end up with a two tier system in the UK before long. Our government mostly support an insurance based system and I would much rather a system like ROI or France than the American system. Yes it still Costs money, but it is not over inflated and much more transparent than the US system. IME often runs quicker and smoother too.

Don't get me wrong, I believe wholeheartedly in the NHS and universal health care free at the point of entry for all, etc. But if we cannot have that system we could do worse than follow Ireland

As a brit I only know about irish health care charges because my mother used to speak of them in hushed and horrified tones Re friends and relatives. From what has been described here it doesn't sound unreasonable. I mean...there are time wasters in the NHS system..at a and e and that. It cannot be denied.

On the other hand I know someone with a long term physical condition and after 25 years in London decided to move home...well he was back in 6 months and said there just wasn't the services to manage his condition as he was used to in London. A physical disability let's say.

@Destroyed people - said there just wasn't the services to manage his condition as he was used to in London

I'd expect he'd find similar if he'd moved to plenty of parts of the UK. There are always going to be much better facilities in a large capital city

@Dk20 €60 per year is fantastic!! I have never heard of it being as low as that!!

This has for some reason reminded me to let the U.K. posters know of another random fact...that Irish schools don't have TA's. We have SNA's who are assigned to one specific child only. They are not there to help the teacher, they are there to help the child only. They cannot take a class if the teacher is out and they are not counted as an extra adult on trips or in the yard (as they are assigned to the one child they care for)

It's funny you say that Agus because I was more or less thinkING it as I wrote it. ...London residents do get a way better quality of health care than some other parts of the UK.