Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan and European Candidate for Midlands-North-West Brendan Smith has called on the Minister for Health to approve additional resources for the Cross-Border Directive (CBD) unit as people accessing services through the CBD increases.
Deputy Smith commented, “The cross-border directive provides people who are languishing on waiting lists with an alternative option by giving them the opportunity to avail of health services in another European country. It has proven to be a successful scheme. I know many from the border region will travel north to avail of medical treatments and surgeries.
“For the amount of people now seeking services through the CBD, more staff are required to adequately process reimbursements in a timely manner. Unfortunately, those who have chosen to pursue medical treatment through the CBD are currently experiencing long delays in having their reimbursement issued. This is leaving people without significant sums of money for a long time which is financially restrictive.
“The Cross-Border team have made a number of submissions to the Department of Health seeking additional resources to cope with the sheer amount of applications they are receiving. The Minister however, has not yet seen fit to approve this despite this being a scheme which actively seeks to reduce waiting lists.
“The Minister must approve these additional resources so that reimbursements can be processed in a timely manner and so that the current delays can be cleared,” concluded Deputy Brendan Smith.