Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-12-Speech-1-176"
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"en.20070312.22.1-176"2
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"Mr President, I very much welcome this debate and the progress that is going to be made following the ECJ judgments, and I know that the Commission has this in its sights.
We shall need European legislation for some of these answers and national legislation for others. But above all we shall need guidance to provide clarity for patient and practitioner alike. We shall need to test the water and adapt to experience, such as with centres of excellence. We need to speed ahead with our frameworks for health professionals and patient safety and sort out the E121 system for people retiring abroad.
People have voted with their challenges to the courts and the ECJ has responded and confirmed their rights. Now we need political action to put in place a system which will be welcomed by people as a benefit coming from Europe.
When I was in Potsdam in January for the German Presidency’s first health conference, I very much welcomed the German Government’s encouragement and its determination to see progress on the issue of patient mobility. We now look forward to the Commission taking that ship into the seas and bringing it safely to harbour for the benefit of our citizens.
In Potsdam, I quoted Jean Giraudoux, because we have a problem, and his quotation, I thought, symbolised it. He said ‘
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Mr President, no poet ever interpreted nature as freely as a lawyer interprets the truth. And, with apologies to any lawyers who may be listening, it is a fact that the lawyers of Europe are deciding policy on patient mobility. Why? Because the politicians of Europe have failed to do so.
If you are happy with unelected lawyers deciding national and European Union health policy, then you do not need to do anything. Just wait and the bills will come in. But if, like me, you believe that it should be the job of parliamentarians, then we need to get on and give legal certainty and guidance without further delay in this whole area for patients.
But we need not panic. We are not talking about vast numbers. Most of our citizens prefer local options and, of course, language may be a deterrent to travelling very far. Only if we have waited too long are most of us interested in cross-border healthcare. Our preference is that local provision will improve and make patient mobility unnecessary and that, in a way, would be a good outcome of the ECJ judgments in itself. But we want to know how the new system will work in practice in case we need it.
We are not talking about a pan-European health service. We are talking about new powers for the patient to bypass sluggish and inadequate services locally and nationally. But, without clarity, without systems, without guidance, we are going to see major concerns as patients and their medical advisers seek to find their way through the complexities of the system, and health budget holders are in chaos as they try to cope with totally unpredictable demand for service funding.
So, as patients, as doctors, as managers, we need answers to some basic questions. The questions the patient asks are: Do I qualify? What is undue delay? Are there differences between conditions and between individuals, including the age of the individual? How do I apply if I need to? How do I or my GP decide what my options are? What country, what hospital, what specialist? What aftercare? Can I top up if the price is higher than in my home Member State? Who decides if the type of treatment complies with the new criteria? And I need to know before I go, not find out later. And how do I appeal if I disagree with the decision? Or do I have to go to court each time? Who will have access to checks on professionals? How will patient records be exchanged? Who pays for my travel, and for that of an accompanying person if I am a child? What channel for complaints is there if something goes wrong? How will reimbursement be affected? What will be the international interface between different systems, Beveridge/Bismarck, euro/non-euro zones? Do we need a central clearing house for claims and payments, nationally or for Europe? And lastly, is my mental illness also covered?"@en1
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"Jamais poète n'a interprété la nature aussi librement qu'un juriste la réalité"1
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