Limerick woman ends 30 years of pain by having operation in Spain
WAIT lists and doctor referrals are a thing of the past for one Limerick woman as she decided to bypass the traditional Irish healthcare route for a more streamlined one abroad.
Caroline Anne Doody, now 56, says she has been in agony with “excruciating neck pain” since she was in her 20s.
The Abbeyfeale woman, who had struggled for three decades with the aching pain, has spoken of her relief since flying to Spain for surgery earlier this year.
After having no luck in Ireland due to long waiting lists, and expensive procedures, Caroline took matters into her own hands and found help with Healthcare Abroad, a free Irish healthcare service, which aids patients in using the EU Cross Border Directive to “access state-of the art treatments and hospitals across Europe”.
In a nutshell, the Cross-Border Directive ensures that an EU resident has the right to medical treatment in any European Economic Area (EEA) and to be treated on the same basis as they would in their home state.
To further break this down, provided certain criteria are met, and a patient's GP signs off on referral, EEA residents are entitled to request healthcare treatment in another EEA country and then receive reimbursement of the cost of the qualifying treatment from their home healthcare system.
In the case of any Irish patients who have used the service, or want to in the future, the patient's bank can lend them the cost of the consultation, surgery and rehabilitation, and after the procedure the HSE reimburse the entire cost of their experience.
Prior to her trip, the bulging discs in her back caused her constant pain, severe headaches and blurred vision at times. She had been getting physio and injections here at home, but to no avail.
In an attempt to find some comfort, Caroline found solace in the healthcare service, which guided her through every step, from acquiring a loan, to navigating Spain, and even to a speedy recovery.
“The whole experience [was] life-changing,” she said. “I flew into Alicante from Shannon on February 5 and the hospital carried out numerous tests to try to identify what was causing my problems”.
Soon after, Caroline received her diagnosis and was ready for surgery at the Benidorm hospital. “When I say they checked everything, I mean they checked everything before identifying an issue with my spine. I had a number of MRIs there and underwent surgery on February 14, Valentine's Day, so I will never ever forget that.”
After her procedure, Caroline said she was out and about in Spain within a couple of days, and even able to go for a walk on the beach.
“The whole experience was incredible,” said the Limerick woman, who was accompanied on the trip by husband, ambulance driver Gerard.
“I was able to walk straight up again the day after the operation,” she continued. “It was pretty miraculous”.
Happy to be able to help the West Limerick lady, a spokesperson for Healthcare Abroad said, “every EU citizen is entitled to get healthcare in any other EU country under the 2014 Cross-Border Directive.”
While the patient does have to pay for flights and accommodation, the service takes care of the paperwork, organises shuttles to and from the hospital for patients and family members, and even contact the banks for the loans - all for free.
In addition, they ensure that each hospital used is private, ensuring no waiting lists in the respective countries are disrupted.
After returning home to Limerick, Caroline is still giving herself necessary time to heal. However, she shared that she is feeling better than ever before. “I don't have the pain that I had down my back, from the neck down. It is brilliant!”
Highly recommending the service to anyone who simply can not wait in agony any longer, she continued, “people are in dire straits now, I had been suffering for years with this, and it gradually got worse.
“I was starting to lose movement and my strength,” she stated. “But there's people out there who can't even walk, or are bed-bound and waiting for surgery,” she added. “They need the help”.
Speaking of her recovery, Caroline mentioned that the rehab and check-up periods conducted by the service were very thorough. “The doctors there checked me before I came home, and Healthcare Abroad have rang me a few times since”.
“It's a lot more than what you would get here,” she laughed. ”That's why I would put this forward, I couldn't fault them”.
Due to lack of promotion by the HSE when it first came into effect, many do not realise the existence of the directive, or how to avail of it.
In the latest figures available, from the first six months of 2022, there were just 530 applications to the cross-border directive with just over €2m reimbursed to patients across the country.
This compared to 3,886 applications in 2018 with a €12m cost and 6,013 applications in 2019 (the highest on record) with €16.5m reimbursed. Numbers fell back in 2020 and still further in 2021 due to the pandemic.
Now, Caroline hopes that with her story, many others will follow her on the road to recovery.