A new hospital has been opened in Spain in order to help clear the backlog in Ireland caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new 64-bed facility is Hospital HCB Dénia in Costa Blanca, Alicante, and is part of a new healthcare agreement that will allow public patients in Ireland who are stuck on long waiting lists be sent abroad for some procedures.
Eligible patients will be treated under the EU Cross Border Directive, with the price of their treatment covered by the HSE - up to what it would cost in Ireland.
While the HSE will cover the cost of the treatment or procedure, patients are expected to pay for their own flights and accommodation.
According to RTE News, around 1,500 Irish patients will get routine planned surgeries each year at the facility such as hip replacements, knee operations, spinal procedures, cataract procedures, weight-loss surgeries as well as other available treatments.
The deal has been agreed by the Hospital Clinical Benidorm Hospitales group (HCB) and Irish logistics company, Healthcare Abroad.
Healthcare Abroad will work to assist patients in using the scheme, travelling to and from and having their procedures at the new facility.
Healthcare Abroad's Chief Operations Officer Paul Byrne said this partnership will transform the lives of many Irish patients, who have been waiting a long time to be seen.
It will facilitate a much faster route to access important treatments which will likely have an immediate and positive impact on each person’s quality of life.
You can access this healthcare in the same way you'd get public healthcare in Ireland.
It must be planned and you need a valid referral and you must qualify for the healthcare you want as a public patient in Ireland.
In order to be eligible in starting the process of using health services in another country under the CBD, you must:
- Qualify for public healthcare
- Have a letter of referral from a public health professional in Ireland
- Arrange a consultation with a healthcare provider abroad - this is called an outpatient appointment
- Travel abroad for healthcare
- Pay for any healthcare you receive
- Complete the CBD pro forma invoice with your healthcare provider abroad
- Apply for repayment towards the cost of the healthcare abroad
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