The cross border scheme for operations - Medical Matters with Derry GP Dr Tom Black
This is the old scheme where you could get your hip or knee replacement done in the Republic of Ireland and Stormont would cover about half the cost. It ran for a few years very successfully and was often the only way people could get these operations done because of the long waiting lists.
Some of my patients would travel to places like Galway or Navan and get their hip replacement done by the same orthopaedic surgeon from Altnagelvin because the surgeon wasn’t provided with sufficient operating time to clear the waiting lists here.
This scheme is back and patients are asking about it. The official name of this new scheme is the ‘Waiting List Reimbursement Scheme’ so if you google those words you’ll find all the details required and how to apply.
This scheme opened in June and the first phase covers private treatments in the Republic of Ireland. A second phase is expected to open soon expanding the scheme to all EU countries so that you can get your operation done in Poland for example. It’s important to note that you will have to pay all costs yourself and can only claim back part of the treatment costs based on HSC Northern Ireland average cost (which not surprisingly will be set at a lower rate usually).
There are eligibility criteria but essentially you have to be resident in Northern Ireland and have been on the treatment or surgical inpatient waiting list in HSC Northern Ireland for more than 104 weeks or two years. This will only apply to treatments available on the NHS in Northern Ireland so cosmetic procedures are probably not included in most cases.
So if you’re on an inpatient waiting list for a hip replacement, for instance, for more than two years you can check out the hospitals in the Republic of Ireland in terms of availability and cost. You will need prior authorisation and this process (see website) will take about 20 working days for confirmation.
The Department of Health accept no clinical responsibility and all arrangements including travel will need to be organised by the patient and their family.
My patients who have availed of this in the past all seem to have done well and were already considering going private because they were in a lot of pain and had no hope of a timely operation in the NHS because of the long waiting lists. They were happy that Stormont was paying roughly about half the cost. From a GP point of view this is an excellent scheme that works well.
However, when I view the scheme as a citizen who has worked in the NHS for more than 40 years it makes me angry. We have two medical schools, billions being spent on the NHS and we can’t organise something simple like routine operations for elderly patients in pain. Stormont should pay the total cost and the sooner we have a single island health service the better because Northern Ireland cannot compete with the better pay and conditions of healthcare workers across the border, where many of our doctors and nurses now work. We will only have decent services when we have a level playing field so that we can recruit enough doctors and nurses.