Madam, – On April 1st, a consultant at a leading Dublin hospital told me that he would seek an urgent CT scan for my problem.
On April 27th I got a letter from the hospital radiology department instructing me to present for the scan on August 19th next.
Alarmed at the prospect of waiting for almost four months, I reluctantly rang the private hospital next door, and within 48 hours had my urgent CT scan. Just because I had €400 to pay for this I was able to leapfrog over hundreds of others. I cannot help but wonder how many more Susie Longs must die in our “Christian” country before we eradicate this utterly obscene and discriminatory two-track medical system?
While in the hospital waiting room I was pleased to read in my Irish Times that our new Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly has “accepted the resignation” of the HSE board. How interesting to note that out of the 11 board members you profiled only two have professional qualifications in medicine. The other nine have backgrounds in accountancy, big business, finance, law, and senior ranks of civil service. Am I really surprised? No. – Yours, etc,