I’ll tell you my experience in Ireland having a baby there, having a daughter who needed a second opinion for surgery which we got there and an xray taken and forwarded back to her doctor here, and being there on a short visit with a 3 year old who had a terrible stomache flu.

When I had my son there, since I was residing in the country I was eligible to see both a General Practitioner AND a OBgyn. If The way they do it there, you alternate between the two every 3 weeks. I called and got in to see the GP within a week or two of my phone call for a first visit. She recommended the OB, who I saw 4 weeks following. From that time on I alternated between the two, no problem. Had at least 2 sonograms done during the pregnancy as well as amnio, which I scheduled within a week of the proceedure. My son was born healthy, but the day I was to leave the hospital, just as my first two children did, he tested high on his biliruben level and had to go to ITU and lay under the lights until the count went down, which was about 3 days. Since I was breastfeeding him, they allowed me to stay in a ward throughout the 3 days so that I could remain close at hand and not have to go home and pump. So, I had care throughout my pregnancy as good as I ever had here, a 3 day postpartum hospital stay, followed by 3 days in a ward for convenience along with my son spending 3 days in ITU. NO CHARGE. When I left the hospital, I was given a social worker for follow up, which is required after all births. The social worker makes weekly visits to weigh and check the baby for the first few weeks. Also, we had a follow up with the Pediatrician for baby shots, etc. All this was covered as well under the NHCS.

Before all this, when I was not yet a resident, my daughter was with me on a one month vacation there and since she was about to have a major spinal surgery I decided to have a second opinion while in Ireland. My husband’s doctor saw her within the first week of our stay, 50 Euro. That doctor set us up with an appt with an Orthopedic Surgeon for a consult. We were able to get in before the end of our stay and that surgeon spent an hour examining her and going over her xrays. He gave us a written opinion to bring back with us. 50 Euro.

Then when we moved to Ireland, a few months after my daughter had her surgery, at the 6 month point we needed a follow up xray taken and sent to her surgeon back home. I called the doctor, got an order for the xray, got an appt. within 2 weeks. We went to the Children’s Hospital at an appointed time and to my shock, after the horrible experiences I had previously had back in the states while waiting for xrays to be taken…. they called us as soon as the appt. time came and took her right in! I couldn’t believe the whole thing took less than 1/2 hr. Then, not only were we NOT charged, but they didn’t even charge us to forward the xrays to her doctor in the States.

About 4 years ago when my son was 3, he became quite ill with the stomach flu while we were on a short visit (about 10 days) to Dublin. My mother in law phoned her doctor, told her the situation and we had an appt the VERY AFTERNOON of that phone call. We waited no longer in that doctor’s waiting room than I have ever waited in the doctor’s waiting room here. My son was thoroughly examined and taken care of. Since we were no longer residents we paid the fee. 50 Euro.

When I lived in Ireland, other that what I’ve mentioned above, we had to use the doctor for a few, typical type visits as well. My daughter had an eye infection once, I think a sore throat and cold once,  my husband was ill once or twice and had to go. Never was it any more difficult to get them in to see the doctor than I have ever experienced here. We phoned and got an appt. quickly. The only difference is that I wasn’t charged as it was covered during our residence there, under the NHCS.

I could go on and give you both good stories AND horror stories about healthcare incidences I’ve had here. Waits in ERs, long waits for mri’s, bills that never seem to be covered, xrays taken by technicians who didn’t know what they were doing, hospitals where the only thing between a disaster and recovery was ME BEING THERE catching mistakes almost made by healthcare providers. Our system is not perfect by any means, and not only is it not perfect, but it costs a hell of a lot more. Paying $1200 a month for COBRA and then being afraid to get sick because I can’t afford what the insurance company won’t cover when the bills come… or times when we were UNinsured because of job loss and denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

I want Universal Healthcare here, no question about it.