Soldier hit with €1,600 hospital bill after training injury

[Jessup]

It disappoints me that you're so quick off the mark to assassinate this man's character before you are even presented with the actual facts. For all we know this could well be an administration/clerical error.

The DF are fighting this for a reason. Even if you have no faith in the chain of command the fact that RDFRA are not fighting his case says it all. If DF pers want private medical treatment they pay for it themselves. Those three facts are all I need.

[smegers]

When has RDFRA fought anyone's case.

[hedgehog]

Is being a chancer not part of the job of being a soldier?

No

I dont know about you or your service but i know I m no chancer and I know for a fact 99.99%

of the people I serve with are not chancers-

all I am saying is we should wait untill the full story comes out before we jump to conclusions

[johnny no stars]

I was injured 10 years ago on a course, was sent to Naas Hospital for an X ray. A month later I received a bill in the post from the Hospital. Gave it to my Coy Commander to pay, it took months for them to pay it, in the mean time I received plenty of warning letters from the hospital.

Medical coverage for RDF personnel for injuries/sickness during training is a major problem. The DF seems intent on forcing people to take out law suits

Same happened to me (albeit more recently). In the end I just paid the bill as it wasn't worth the hassle of banging my head against a brick wall trying to get the bill paid and all the while receiving warning letters.

There's far more to this story than meets the eye. What was the €1600 actually for? The differential between eleven days being in a public and private room - I don't think so! add another zero for that maybe. Sometime seriously wrong in this case.

As another poster outlined you'd barely get one night in a private room for €1600. This bill was for something else.

You've said it twice yourself, there's more to this than meets the eye. How about we all wait and find out what the bill was for before deciding to go on a witch hunt after this guy? 11 days in hospital + initial admission is what, nearly 900 euro?

What if he had a couple of tests done? Surely even going public, scans of various sorts can end up REALLY expensive. It's entirely possible that the lad THINKS he was charged private fees but was actually being hit with the cost of various tests etc. (oh and if he was complaining of chest pain, I'd imagine they'd do at least 1 sort of scan....)

But as I said, and as you also put so nicely Jessup, there IS more to this than meets the eye so how about we all stop criticising this guy and the DF until we know more?

[Traumagod]

Anyone actually wondering or give a shit how the guy is? 11 days as an inpatient post chest pain is pretty serious. People who have had angioplasty are normally in and out in a couple of days. All this hassle over been threatened with a 1600 quid bill is not doing his recovery much good I'd imagine. So why not wish the guy well instead of name calling and character assassination . I'm pretty sure he or his mates might read this from time to time.

[Jessup]

So why not wish the guy well instead of name calling and character assassination .

In the context of years of highly questionable hearing claims, dodgy PTSD cases and other ridiculous compo claims all my goodwill in these type of cases is exhausted.

[Jessup]

But as I said, and as you also put so nicely Jessup, there IS more to this than meets the eye so how about we all stop criticising this guy and the DF until we know more?

Fair enough. It just really irritates me that all of the original posters took this guys side from the beginning. People do try and ride the system and the DF get these things right most of the time.

[hedgehog]

Fair enough. It just really irritates me that all of the original posters took this guys side from the beginning. People do try and ride the system and the DF get these things right most of the time.

you will find most decent people kept an open mind and didnt

condemn a comrade before we heard the full tale

then again most of us are ordinaty enlisyed personnel.

[Jessup]

No. I dont know about you or your service but i know I m no chancer and I know for a fact 99.99% of the people I serve with are not chancers-

Do you only serve with one other person? Everyone in the DF is always chancing their arm. That's why there's a chain of command.

What about my personal favourite from your place of enjoyment - "The Oasis Bus". That bus was full you know, it wasn't just the driver and the guy who organised it. All of those on it knew it was a DF bus and that they were using it to travel to a nixer. Full of chancers!

If you want an officer example, what about the guy that tried to bring in the second duty free car from the same overseas trip. Another chancer.

I've no problem with someone chancing their arm. But if they get found out then they swing up their arms and take their punishment and don't going crying to solicitors and running to the papers.

[hedgehog]

As I said I know of no chancers

and I am sure if you did you would have done your duty and reported same

as I would.

But going back to the original point- lets not cruicfy this man without hearing the full

story - no matter how many times othes have got awat with theft and fraud because those in charge

may have turned a blind eye

[trellheim]

Anything to wind people up eh ? Personally "innocent till proven guilty". Not being a bleeding heart liberal here either. Private treatment for 11 days would have cost over €10k [ at LEAST ] as someone else has said.

RDFRA can get involved because of


http://www.rdfra.ie/regulations/s7.shtml#15 read down to 2nd Schedule , Scope of Representation.

(g) medical and dental benefits provided by the Department of Defence for members of the Army Reserve and the Naval Service Reserve following accidents arising out of their duties;

[hptmurphy]

he differential between eleven days being in a public and private room - I don't think so!

The figure alone needs looking at as a single private room is charged at some where in the region of €570 per day without even having being looked at.

I reckon the gentleman is being charged at public rate for the bed which equates to about 110€ per day plus the cost of the initial admission plus vat.

This is what joe public with private health care insurance or medical card pays.

The hospital would automatically bill him and not the DF as this would have been the details entered on admission and not who he was working for.

Even as a healthcare worker if I have an accident at work I have to go through the system to generate the paperwork to say that I existed as a patient, the end result is a bill. I then have to go to my employers to have the bill settled simple as.

As he was not incapacitated at the time of his admission he waould have been asked his preference for treatment.Had he been incapacitated it would be automatically be assumed that he was a public rather than private patient and his status would have been changed at the earleist convienience.It is obligatory for the hospital to ensure that private patients are treated as such as soon as it becomes knpwn otherwise the insurance companies won't cough up, so its not a case of dump him in with the private patients and wait and see who coughs up, its acse of can he pay for what is getting before he gets the five star treatment.

As for what happens to him while inside the hospital, army has no say in the matter. Thats between the man and his doctors.


Eleven days seems abit OTT forchest pains, normally an ECG will tell you immediately what the problem is or was, aday or two under observation, boot you out to be refered on ward end of story..

Soemthing tells me all has not been revealed.

[DeV]

If members of the DF receive "free" treatment in hospitals why do they receive bills? The Minister should receive them!

[johnny no stars]

If members of the DF receive "free" treatment in hospitals why do they receive bills? The Minister should receive them!

I would imagine it's because anyone could be out doing something and get injured, maybe break/sprain something and think "hmmm I'll stick on the uniform and get treated for free...."

[hptmurphy]

I

f members of the DF receive "free" treatment in hospitals why do they receive bills? The Minister should receive them!

It would depend on how the patient was reffered to the hospital.

If he was admitted without a letter of referral he would be billed privately,

If a letter of refferal was granted from an Army Doctor he would have automatically been processed through the army system as his LA 30 would have to corresspond with the admisssion.

The fact he was a sreservist he would not have had acess to his AF 30 as opposed to LA 30 and would have been treated as an emergency admission and billed as such with the owness on him to pass on the bill.

If the incident took place while he was on army training all proceedures and test linked to it are at the armies expense( I think the book states ministers expense)

the Bill would be itemised so can be questioned. Its tranparent enough

he got the bed and traetment he is entitled to and the DF have to fork out for that, however should there be additional cahrges not normally associated with the treatment these would have to be explained and if not re coupable from the minister as they are not deemed as be normal charges, the individual is responsible.