A legal dispute that has delayed the provision of a dialysis centre in Wexford is costing the HSE some €460,000 annually in taxi fares for patients, according to the Irish Times.
Approximately 39 patients have to be taxied from Wexford to Waterford Regional Hospital three times a week because of the delay in the development which was meant to be opened in 2012.
The taxi service is costing over €38,000 a month according to figures by the HSE.
Newstalk Lunchtime’s Nadine Maloney followed a dialysis patient, Betty Kenny for a day to see the impact it is having on their day -to- day lives.
Betty has been finding the trips to the hospital very tough: "If I get home for 7, I call that a very good day."
The journey is taking a toll on Betty and her family. Her husband and childhood sweetheart Tommy stated: "Well, it takes a toll, the worry I presume about herself, the journey she is facing, the treatment she is undergoing. It's just the whole system."
Betty said the worst part is: "the waiting and the time and the journey."
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Log on to the Irish Kidney Association website www.ika.ie
