Help, a&e in Ireland?

[Uktoireland]

Hey

just wanted to double check in case anyone on here knows

I’m travelling to Ireland soon. I have a condition which sometimes makes me unwell and I have to go to A&e ( think epilepsy, asthma, that type of thing) it’s controlled at the moment but obviously it’s always in the back of my mind to be prepared in case it flares up and I have to access emergency treatment

for abroad I’d take out travel health insurance but from the NHS and gov website it’s unclear if this is required for going to Ireland. It says as long as you have a drivers license and photo ID you can get emergency care but it’s not clear if this is free or charged, but then I’ve also seen online that you need a GHIC/EHIC and that sometimes you have to pay upfront for treatment and claim back of the NHS

I have a driving license but no GHIC/EHIC and not enough time to get one

just a bit unsure what to do- I’ll take out travel health insurance just in case but not sure if it’s even necessary as from the sounds of it you can access emergency care without this? But just unclear if you have to pay for it upfront or not?

i know in ROI they pay 100e to go to a&e but obviously as a UK citizen I’m not sure if I’d have to pay the full amount which would be much much more

hopefully it won’t be necessary but just want to be prepared just in case

does anyone know anything? Thanks x

My husband got a burst appendix while we were on holiday in Ireland from England. He is English. He was seen and treated and spent a week in hospital in Letterkenny and we were charged nothing. Ditto taking small children to hospital. There is a reciprocal agreement. However, our travel plans and return were all mucked up and as we had no travel insurance we had to pay a fortune to get home so def get travel insurance too to cover that side of things. You can never have too much insurance!

You'll have to pay €100 to use a&e in Ireland

You don’t have to pay the €100 charge if you’re admitted to hospital from a & e anyway @Wtafdidido. It’s only for those who attend but who aren’t admitted (though certain catergories of patients are exempt).

Or they won't. It's not that simple. There are lots of people without a GP.

Nice for your guest they were seen, doesn't mean it's standard.

You claimed that a tourist in Dublin won't be able to see a GP anywhere in the city as they're all so oversubscribed. A quick 3 minute Google search proves that to be untrue, there are several practices advertising on their website that they are accepting new patients which indicates that they have capacity. One even has a specific online booking system for tourists with an EHIC/GHIC and has plenty of appointments available.

There are issues in some (particularly rural) areas for domestic patients, yes. But you're extrapolating that to the entire country and making claims that are just not true. It sounds like pushing a certain agenda tbh.

Not to mention the fact that OP was asking about A&E, which she will be able to access, and she won't need to pay for.

[(Edit) @DirectionToPerfection ]
Smaaaall details🫢 😁

I would expect a hospital to be able to invoice the Uk as they are now geared to get a private medical details for billing

At least the OP knows she could ask for a free appointment with a GP

@Uktoireland you should also ask your GP for a hospital admission type letter which gives an overview of your medical condition(s). Its very helpful to be able to supply it as medical history and then you do not to have to remember dates and spellings for meds if you are feeling unwell.

Why are you talking about invoicing again? That's not the OP's concern, all she needs to do at the hospital is provide her GHIC information. This has already been explained earlier on the thread.

Invoicing in the hospital setting?
Because the €100 fee would be added to the A&E admission charges when the hospital invoice the HSE/UK.

Ok, but it's not relevant to the OP as she won't have to deal with an invoice, just show her GHIC info.

She came here for advice and the answer to her question is really quite simple. The thread seems to have descended into something else and all this talk about invoicing procedures between the GPs/hospitals/HSE/NHS, etc, is just likely to cause unnecessary confusion.

What admission charges?

The public hospital will have a chargeout rate for all of its services which are delivered to non-qualifying people. (Staff/consultant costs tests Xray MRI etc)
So if the OP was from a country which had no international agreement in place she would need to make sure she had hospital cover travel insurance.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/health-system/health-services-and-visitors-to-ireland/

As I understand the system is now a all in private or public so if you register at A&E as having private irish health insurance the hospital will to send your insurance company a bill even if you would otherwise qualify for free care. (Im open to correction on that)
From memory A&E admissions from road accidents come with a charge out as its a cost the State recovers from the liable car insurance.

It has already been stated, with evidence from government websites, that there is a recpiricol agreement in place between the UK and Ireland.

why do you think hospitals and GPs will have any difficulty in recouping their costs from this agreement? There’s a lot of ifs and maybes in your responses, with a complete absence of any evidence to back up your statements.

in case you are worried about GPs being out of pocket here is a guide for GPs to claim back costs of treating eligible overseas visitors as well as other Special Type Consultations. I’m sure GPs will be well aware of this guidance already. Hospitals will have similar guidance in place.

ALL the OP needs to do is follow the government guidance in place should she need treatment, whether that be by GP or hospital. It is not OPs concern how 5e GP or hospital get paid, they will get paid and they will know how to claim the appropriate costs.

www.gppracticeally.ie/gmsstcclaims

GHIC covers emergencies. I’ve used it abroad. It wouldn’t cover you for eg if you had to be flown home.

I was asked a specific question about my post (as quoted) by a poster and replied to that poster.

My reply had nothing to do with the OPs questions nor your input.

This is a discussion forum.

Also, in an earlier post you directly asked me how a GP would get paid for seeing an overseas patient if the patient themselves didn’t pay them. Happy to provide you with the correct information - please note, I haven’t made it up, there is an actual process. Whoever would have thought.

Other factually correct information - if a GP is needed by a tourist, who is entitled to free healthcare while visiting Ireland, then the tourist can contact the relevant Local Health Office who will provide a list of GPs in the area who will be able to provide an appointment. Information direct from the HSE website.

I was asked a specific question about my post (as quoted) by Regretsmorethanafew and replied to Regretsmorethanafew.

And I am replying to you. See above - which you posted to me.

The link I posted shows exactly how GPs process non-resident patients, be they UK or other nationalities with a right to access free healthcare if taken ill on holiday in Ireland.

i get the impression you’re not actually interested in finding out the factual information though, you seem far more invested in having an argument. I’m not willing to argue with you. The information is out there (from reliable sources, as quoted) and is very clear. Not sure why you think you know better than the HSE.

I’ve no interest in continuing this discussion with you, think whatever you like - it doesn’t change the actual facts. I’m not responding to you again….its clearly pointless.

You answered that post yesterday and we had a whole conversation about GPs be under contract with the HSE and the medical card yesterday evening
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5300493-help-ae-in-ireland?page=3&reply=143077967

Yes