Do you think all Irish children should have free health care?

brokenarms

Just up to the night doctor with a sick child.

Turned out to be nothing serious but we did not want to take the chance. And rightly so.

Got a bill of 65 euro.

So if parent had no money and had a badly sick child , would the doctor still see the kid? Or just let the child get sicker or worse.

Seems outrages to me that we cant provide free healthcare to our most precious of citizens . Yet we can keep every tom, dick and harry in a free house and dutch gold tokens.

Have we got our proprieties all wrong?

Chucky the tree

And have every parent straight up the doctor when ever their kid sneezes? No thanks.

Youssef Chippo

No! I don't have kids so why the fuck should I pay for someone elses?

El Weirdo

You were doing okay until you got to here:

brokenarms wrote: »

Yet we can keep every tom, dick and harry in a free house and dutch gold tokens.

Have we got our proprieties all wrong?

starbelgrade

Dey tuk ur babies.

admiralofthefleet

♫ I Believe The Children Are Our Future ♫

Fr_Dougal

If you cant afford to have children, don't have them.

Youssef Chippo

Where can I get some of these Dutch Gold tokens?

brokenarms

Chucky the tree wrote: »

And have every parent straight up the doctor when ever their kid sneezes? No thanks.

Ok. good point.

but even a reduced child price. They are alot smaller than a normal person

The King of Moo

*joke about your username being "brokenarms" and your post being about healthcare that I'm too tired to come up with, and is probably too obvious anyway*

shopaholic01

I think children should have free health care - at least until they start school. Children suffer from various childhood illnesses (chicken pox etc) as they are exposed to new bacteria and viruses. A lot of new parents also don't know when they need to bring their child to the doctor, so err on the side of caution.


I have often wondered what a doctor would do if a patient couldn't afford their consultation. Surely they would be obliged to treat them - from an ethical point of view at least.

Skid

I would give all children free GP cards, and take the Medical cards off Wealthy Pensioners who don't need them. But that's just me.

pragmatic1

I think every person regardless of age should be entitled to medical attention when its actually required. That doesn't mean whenever someone has a slight touch of the cold though. However those that can afford it should make a contribution.

Youssef Chippo

brokenarms wrote: »

even a reduced child price. They are alot smaller than a normal person

LOL

You don't want to be getting your proprieties wrong.

El Weirdo

Youssef Chippo wrote: »

No! I don't have kids so why the fuck should I pay for someone elses?

Because they'll probably be paying for your pension when you're older.

The King of Moo

Aubrey Flabby Pennon wrote: »

You don't want to be getting your proprieties wrong.

I did that once. I said "my Lord" instead of "my Grace" to a king. Both of us nearly lost the head, in different ways.

brokenarms

El Weirdo wrote: »

Because they'll probably be paying for your pension when you're older.

Post of the day:pac::pac:

ladypip

There was a time that if Id needed to bring my son to the accident and emergency dept I couldn't have afforded it. There are people who aren't entitled to medical cards who would be under sever pressure if they needed to bring their children to the doc/ a&e. I do agree that every child should have access to medical care if they need it without their parents having to stress about the cost, while medical cards cater for non and minimal earners what about those people in the in low earning bracket who are just getting by maybe their children but not they themselves should be entitled to free medical treatment?

kneemos

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

If you cant afford to have children, don't have them.

Maybe he can't afford contraception.

Youssef Chippo

El Weirdo wrote: »

Because they'll probably be paying for your pension when you're older.

Well if I work say 40-50 years of my adult life I think I'd be paying for it myself.

Kurz

El Weirdo wrote: »

Because they'll probably be paying for your pension when you're older.

If you can't afford old age then don't have it!

Sauve

brokenarms wrote: »

Just up to the night doctor with a sick child.

Turned out to be nothing serious but we did not want to take the chance. And rightly so.

Got a bill of 65 euro.

So if parent had no money and had a badly sick child , would the doctor still see the kid? Or just let the child get sicker or worse.

Seems outrages to me that we cant provide free healthcare to our most precious of citizens . Yet we can keep every tom, dick and harry in a free house and dutch gold tokens.

Have we got our proprieties all wrong?

If you called out a plumber/electrician at this hour, you'd expet to pay a damn sight more than €65. Your child is sick, you want them better, €65 isn't a lot for that peace of mind surely?
I know it's still a lot of money that plenty of people haven't got lying around, don't get me wrong. Just for me, money for healthcare takes priority.
That said, and it's for another thread, but our healthcare system is extremely unfair. Not an ideal system by any means.

Chuck Stone

More GP's.

More Competition.

Cheaper to see the GP.

It's ~€21 to see a GP in Belgium.

Look at the way these sentences are forming a slope.

brokenarms

ladypip wrote: »

There was a time that if Id needed to bring my son to the accident and emergency dept I couldn't have afforded it. There are people who aren't entitled to medical cards who would be under sever pressure if they needed to bring their children to the doc/ a&e. I do agree that every child should have access to medical care if they need it without their parents having to stress about the cost, while medical cards cater for non and minimal earners what about those people in the in low earning bracket who are just getting by maybe their children but not they themselves should be entitled to free medical treatment?

That would be us. Both of us are making below average and I have just been layed off for a few weeks. We would probably fall into the bracket of those who would have the same money on the dole.
That 65 euro was for the shopping and will cut deep by the end of the week.

We can just about afford it. But wonder what would happen if we could not .

Say my son had appendicitis. lethal is not treated in time. Would they just let it get worse?

Sauve

brokenarms wrote: »

That would be us. Both of us are making below average and I have just been layed off for a few weeks. We would probably fall into the bracket of those who would have the same money on the dole.
That 65 euro was for the shopping and will cut deep by the end of the week.

We can just about afford it. But wonder what would happen if we could not .

Say my son had appendicitis. lethal is not treated in time. Would they just let it get worse?

I don't think there's a doctor in the country who would refuse to see your child if you straight up told them you couldn't afford to pay full price. I really hope I'm not wrong there.

It sounds like you should be entitled to a medical card if not a Doctor Visit card OP, going by your circumstances. Could be worth looking into.

ted1

There needs to be some deterrent for parents who tun to the doctor with the slightest alment.

Witcher

Sauve wrote: »

I don't think there's a doctor in the country who would refuse to see your child if you straight up told them you couldn't afford to pay full price. I really hope I'm not wrong there.

+1

My own doctor has a sign up saying that all bills have to be paid in full before leaving but I know for a fact he allows people that just don't have the money to run up tabs and pay off them..it's just the tight fcukers that have it and won't pay that he has the sign up for.

123balltv

€60 for a gp no wonder we're the fifth most expensive country in the EU :mad:
I wish we had an NHS at least the English get free healthcare through
their taxes we get nothing but receipts from banks

Sauve

ted1 wrote: »

There needs to be some deterrent for parents who tun to the doctor with the slightest alment.

Agreed. This is a huge problem in the UK, with the NHS system. They introduced the MAS (minor-ailment-service) in Scotland, whereby pharmacists could prescribe from a very limited list of medications for things such as coughs, colds, eczema, athletes foot etc.
It helped in that it took a lot of pressure from the GPs', but caused a massive headache for pharmacy staff. I don't know if it's settled now, as I haven't worked there in about 5 years, but it definitely wasn't the cure-all that was expected.

bleg

How are you going to convince people to work for free?


You mean the parents don't have to pay and the state picks up the tab instead.


No way.

NegativeCreep

Your kids are precious to you. Mot anyone else. No they shouldn't get free healthcare.

benchppress

If you can't afford to pay to see the doctor perhaps cut back on the cigarettes, alcohol and digital television?

dvpower

NegativeCreep wrote: »

Your kids are precious to you. Mot anyone else. No they shouldn't get free healthcare.

And free education? Should that be abolished too?

ted1

If you do find you take the kids or yourself a bit have a look at this http://www.gpnow.ie/

professore

Youssef Chippo wrote: »

El Weirdo wrote: »

Because they'll probably be paying for your pension when you're older.

Well if I work say 40-50 years of my adult life I think I'd be paying for it myself.

Don't worry you'll be put down humanely when you are no longer a productive member of society.

keith16

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

If you cant afford to have children, don't have them.

There are those who make don't make informed decisions on having children.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs on this, children come into the world having had no say on the matter.

They are only kids and precious in their own right. Medical care should not be denied to them because it can't be afforded.

Imagine a doctor lecturing in front of your sick child saying that he won't get better because you can't afford kids and you shouldn't have had him in the first place. It doesn't happen because what fcuking difference does it make now?

A large part of the population in the 50s 60s 70s 80s couldn't afford to have children yet here we all are.

EDIT: Fcuked up my sloping sentences at the end there. God damn you Chuck Stone, now I have another thing to add to my OCD list.

dhmusic

Sauve wrote: »

It sounds like you should be entitled to a medical card if not a Doctor Visit card OP, going by your circumstances. Could be worth looking into.

But if he gets a medical card then he won't be able to moan about all of those scroungers on the dole living the luxury with medical cards and dutch gold tokens and free houses, he would become one of them. He's probably better off being sick than getting assistance from the state, at least he won't be a scrounger.

Sauve

dhmusic wrote: »

But if he gets a medical card then he won't be able to moan about all of those scroungers on the dole living the luxury with medical cards and dutch gold tokens and free houses, he would become one of them. He's probably better off being sick than getting assistance from the state, at least he won't be a scrounger.

You don't necessarily need to be on the dole to be entitled to a GP visit or full medical card. Both the OP and his/her partner are working, I'd hardly call them scroungers just because their incomes are low.

emo72

This thread needs a poll, badly.

benchppress

what's wrong with canada

emo72

GeorgeyBurns wrote: »

I think free health care is hit and miss.

If you look at France, it's really good.

If you look at Canada, it's really bad.

It just depends on the work ethic of your population. I spent over a month in hospital and our worst problem is pensioners being dumped in wards because it's cheaper than old age folks home.

Canada? Are you she you have the right country? Cos Canada is great.

ringadingding

Jaysus, all the 'your kid, your problem ' fools.

Children should get the best start in life, regardless of background.
Good health is imperative. They should have mandatory twice yearly checks, and free healthcare for children.
Don't take your child for 2 check ups per year, no child Benifits.
Imagine the amount of ailments that could be nipped in the bud.

Sadly some parents don't prioritise the health of their children often enough.
What is it about so many irish that we just can't seethe importance of health and getting our children into this routine from a young age is crucial.

People saying they don't want kids clogging up the overpaid, normally useless GP's are short sighted plonkers

benchppress

ringadingding wrote: »

Imagine the amount of ailments that could be nipped in the bud.

none most likely

mdebets

No, they shouldn't. It's the exclusive right of all parents to provide healthcare for their child and that right shouldn't be taken away by the state.

Sauve

ringadingding wrote: »

People saying they don't want kids clogging up the overpaid, normally useless GP's are short sighted plonkers

People who run to their GP when they have a cold/graze/something obviously trivial are the plonkers if you ask me.
Just for the record, I think GPs' have one of the toughest jobs in the country. They work their asses off for very little thanks, and generally only get guff from patients just because they can't work miracles.
Sure, they're paid very well, but why shouldn't they be? They're generally our first port of call for the vast majority of healthcare problems, a job that is all too often underestimated.

emo72

ringadingding wrote: »

Jaysus, all the 'your kid, your problem ' fools.

Children should get the best start in life, regardless of background.
Good health is imperative. They should have mandatory twice yearly checks, and free healthcare for children.
Don't take your child for 2 check ups per year, no child Benifits.
Imagine the amount of ailments that could be nipped in the bud.

Sadly some parents don't prioritise the health of their children often enough.
What is it about so many irish that we just can't seethe importance of health and getting our children into this routine from a young age is crucial.

People saying they don't want kids clogging up the overpaid, normally useless GP's are short sighted plonkers

As a taxpayer, I would like to congratulate you on your correct thinking. Congratulations straight thinking person.

Sauve

emo72 wrote: »

As a taxpayer, I would like to congratulate you on your correct thinking. Congratulations straight thinking person.

Not seeing the connection here....

mdebets

Youssef Chippo wrote: »

No! I don't have kids so why the fuck should I pay for someone elses?

Because they probably be wiping your arse when you can't do it yourself anymore.

Chuck Stone

There's a good case to be made for comprehensive 'free' healthcare and expert primary schools with robust services for children.

The argument is that it's easier and much cheaper to prevent little problems from becoming massive ones. Catch impaired or neglected children in primary school and provide assistance/intervene before they end up becoming a drain on every other service.

ringadingding

benchppress wrote: »

none most likely

Speech impediments, hearing tests, eye tests... Will I go on ?

My daughter was 3.5, all perfect, we legally have to bring her for check ups where we live, had the eye test, thought she'd breeze through it, turns out she only had 25% vision in one eye, we are involved, caring parents and we didn't have a clue, nobody did. And to her it was normal to be nearly blind In one eye. This check up led to her eye now getting back to 90% vision, but if it wasbt caught early, it wouldn't have improved as much as it did.
So yeah, I see mandatory check ups as a great excercise