Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-25-Speech-4-023"
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"en.20080925.4.4-023"2
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"Mr President, why should a patient have to lose their sight waiting for a cataract operation in the UK, for instance, when it could be done in another Member State? And why should a person waiting in agony for a hip operation not be able to take advantage of the lack of waiting lists in some Member States, sometimes at a lesser cost to the country of origin? And why do some heart patients have to wait months to have surgery to unblock arteries when there really is no need?
If a clinician advises treatment, and this cannot be provided at home, then we need a legal framework to ensure that we can seek it elsewhere. All too often it is the poorest people that face discrimination and inequality in access to health care. That is why we must ensure that Member States can authorise treatment in another country prior to that treatment. We must not restrict cross-border health care just to those who can afford it.
Equally, this new directive must not compromise standards of care for those people who do chose to stay at home. We must also ensure that there are safeguards in place that put the rights and safety of the patients first. That is why it is vital that a mechanism is developed to share patients’ records between the patients’ home country and the country where they receive treatment.
Apart from that, we need to develop a system of compensation for patients who suffer avoidable harm when being treated in another country EU country. And, with regards to the sharing of best practice, I welcome Article 15 in the draft directive which calls for a system of European reference networks. These centres of excellence could prove a useful way of sharing knowledge, training and the exchange of information. All too often we look at health-care-acquired infections or cancer-screening guidelines; the answer is on our doorstep, and it is about time that we started learning from each other more effectively."@en1
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