Healthcare, UCD Students’ Union Breaks Students' Trust

Only a few days in the job.

Article on RTE.ie

University College Dublin will this year introduce fees for its student health service. Students were informed of the new charges by email on Monday. From the start of the academic year, charges will include a €10 fee for a nurse visit and a €25 fee to see a doctor. Charges will not apply to students on medical cards, while counselling services will also remain free of charge.

UCD student union president Garry Redmond says the new system will not affect vulnerable students.

Email sent to students.

Dear UCD Student,

Prior to your return to campus we would like to bring to your attention a change in the UCD Student health Service.

UCD is committed to providing UCD students with access to a comprehensive Student health Service which complements their existing medical services (family GP etc). In the current economic climate UCD must change the way it funds this service. It is no longer possible to maintain a free service for all students. From September 7th 2009 students will be charged for services offered by the UCD Student health Service. These charges will enable UCD maintain the current level of medical services and also provide a platform for additional services. The services operated by UCD Student Counselling will remain free of charge.

UCD and the UCD Students Union are working together to ensure that these charges are introduced in a fair and considered fashion.

Medical Card

In parallel with this decision, UCD will conduct an information campaign to ensure that all students are made aware of how to establish their entitlements under the States Medical Card scheme. UCD Student health Service will facilitate the use of a Medical Card/GP Visit Card to cover applicable services where one is presented at time of appointment. Please refer to the UCD Student Handbook for further details or contact the UCD Students Union or visit www.hse.ie.

Student Welfare Fund

In addition, UCD will work with the various support structures within the university to ensure that no student will be deprived of health services due to financial difficulties.

The Student Welfare Fund is one such source of funding that can be accessed in case of financial difficulty. This can be instigated after a medical appointment. For further information on how to apply go to www.ucd.ie/student_welfare.htm#SWF or contact the UCD Students Union Welfare Officer, Scott Ahern (welfare@ucdsu.ie).

Charges

The following schedule of charges will apply from September 7th 2009.

Nurse visit: 10 euro*

Doctors visit: 25 euro

Psychiatrist Consultation: 40 euro

* If a student is referred by the nurse to a UCD doctor under the triage system, the 10 euro nurse charge will not apply.

Existing charges for special services such as travel vaccines will continue.

Services operated by UCD Student Counselling will remain free of charge.

Medical Bills

Payment for using the Student health Service will not be made at time of appointment; instead the appropriate charge will be made to the student's confidential health service account. No medical details are recorded on this. Where a student presents a valid Medical Card/GP Visit Card at the point of consultation, the charge will be zero.

Students will be expected to clear outstanding student health service account charges within 10 days of using the UCD health Service. Payment can be made by the student using a credit/debit card facility on the web. Receipts can be print as required.

In cases of financial difficulty an application to the Student Welfare Fund or other funding sources may be made after using the UCD health Service. All students presenting at the UCD Student health Service are treated independently of their health service account status.

Regards,

Martin Butler, Vice-President for Students

Garry Redmond, SU President 2009/2010