|
|
 |
You are > Home > Sheahan slams new medical card plans
|
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sheahan slams new medical card plans
BY MARY MURPHY
A KERRY TD has hit out at what he described as an inane and dysfunctional plan to centralise the processing of medical card applications in a remote location in Dublin.
Deputy Tom Sheahan said the proposal was the very antithesis of the government’s decentralisation and national spatial strategies.
"Earlier this year, I voiced fears that this would lead to a major deterioration in the level of service to the public. This had already occurred last January, when the handling of over-70s medical card applications was transferred to this location," Deputy Sheahan said.
"I could not have foreseen the degree to which my worst fears about this centre have been realised in the veritable catalogue of complaints, delays and errors in processing applications and claims, resulting in the inevitable disappointment and frustration for the people involved," he added.
"This impersonal call centre, which might as well be located in Abu Dhabi or Rangoon, has received upwards of 1,000 phone queries a day from over-70 year olds," he said.
"It will be utterly swamped when the remaining 90 per cent of the entire country’s medical card business is transferred there, when the daily phone call count is likely to be around 10,000 per day," Deputy Sheahan stated.
"The people of Kerry are certainly not receiving an enhanced service from centralising the over-70s medical card application process near Finglas, nor is an additional nine-fold workload likely to improve the situation," he added.
The Fine Gael TD praised the staff of the HSE Community Care Services in Kerry for the compassionate way they do their job.
Main News Page |
Previous Page
|
|
|
|
