Sponsored by
The eyes have it...
The National Treatment Purchase Fund, established in 2002, aims to reduce surgical waiting lists across Ireland by offering eligible patients cost-free operations at private hospitals. Laura Keys spoke to Kilkenny woman Margaret Thornton about her experience with the NTPF and how she got to where she is today.
AFTER spending a lifetime in and out of hospitals in three countries as a patient and as a nurse, Margaret Thornton was resigned to a long wait for surgery as a public patient when she was diagnosed with cataracts two years ago.
Fiercely independent and living alone, Margaret knew she had to have the treatment sooner rather than later, but the prohibitive cost and lengthy waiting list were against her, so when she received a letter from the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) advising her the treatment could be done immediately and at no cost, she was uncharacteristically, speechless.
"My eyesight was beginning to trouble me and I like to read quite a lot, but the lines were starting to run into one another," she said.
"I went in to a private clinic and they said I had cataracts starting to form. The doctor told me the price to have one eye done and it was staggering. I knew I had to have it done, but in the end I decided I just couldn't afford it."
In March 2008, Margaret went on a waiting list for cataract surgery as a public patient at Waterford Regional Hospital. Six months later and with no surgery date in sight, she was contacted by the NTPF, which referred her for treatment at Aut Even Private Hospital in Kilkenny. She had her first eye treated just a few weeks later on December 17 and the second eye was treated in late February.
"Once the whole process started, they got through it very quickly," Margaret said. "They were very much on the ball. I didn't think they would do both eyes since I wasn't paying for it, I thought they would just do the one I specified. I was delighted when I heard. It's given me back the life I had before."
Margaret was born to an Irish father and English mother in Leicestershire, England, at the start of the war. As an infant, she was sent back to her grandparents in Kilkenny to get her away from the dangers in England, but she returned to her family a few years later and spent all her school years in the UK.
A 17-year-old Margaret and her parents then moved to Toronto, Canada, where they made a new life for themselves and it is a place that, after living for 27 years, Margaret has extremely fond memories.
"It's such a wonderful city," she tells me. "If you've never been, you should certainly go there if you get the chance. It's friendly and laid-back, it's just a great place."
Margaret spent years doing jobs of all sorts, "I was a jack of all trades, master of a few," she laughed, before "falling into" her first career as one of North America and Canada's first female driving instructors.
"I like a challenge, and once I've proven myself, I like to move on to something else," Margaret said. "I didn't mean to get into driving, but it just happened." She spent time working with the Canadian police force, then went into a public school for 'troubled' children, where she spent eight years teaching teenagers how to drive.
"That would be a challenge for anyone, but these were kids from the wrong sides of the track, from broken homes and foster homes, these kids had it really tough," she said."But I loved it. I loved the challenge they posed to me."
As a 35-year-old, Margaret moved back to England and embarked upon her second career - nursing. "I went back to study nursing for three years as a 35-year-old," she recalled. "My parents thought I was mad. I was like the grandmother among all the young lasses."
But she stuck at it and took to working in hospitals.
The family then moved back to Kilkenny where they had purchased a property in Conahy where Margaret's father was going to breed greyhounds, but tragedy struck and he died suddenly.
"When my father died, I had to care for my mother," Margaret said. "We had just bought the old farm in Conahy with a big old farmhouse which needed renovating, so even thought I didn't want to, I had to roll up the sleeves and get into all the work that needed doing."
Margaret then sold the house and bought a place of her own in New Orchard, where she carried on her father's dream of breeding and rearing greyhounds which she did until her retirement a few years ago. Margaret continued to care for her mother, who lived to be 94, throughout this time.
Her mother also had cataracts, but these were not removed until she was nearly 90, so Margaret wasn't surprised when she was diagnosed.
Not a worrier by nature, she wasn't phased by the thought of going in to hospital, but was amazed at the stress-free, positive nature of the experience.
"Shamefully, elderly people can often be left to one side in life, and certainly in hospital," she said."But that doctor, that clinic and that hospital - no one going to them need have any fear. They listen to you, they take time with you and they won't shuffle you in and out the door like some places will. I was very surprised how good it all was, considering the good many hospitals I've been in over the years. The staff were helpful and polite and people weren't just left sitting there as if they've forgotten about you and that's very important to older people.
"Compared to some of the other places I've had to go, they were wonderful. Going into hospital can be a daunting experience for anyone, especially older people, but when it came to older people, they really put them at ease and that's an important factor. With everything I went through, I couldn't have had better treatment if I'd been paying for it myself. For once in my life, I was pleasantly surprised."
About the NTPF
• It has arranged treatment for almost 3,500 patients like Margaret from Kilkenny, and 150,000 patients around Ireland, since it was established in 2002.
• It aims to reduce the length of time public patients have to wait for procedures.
• Procedures include: cataracts, hip and knee replacement, heart surgery, removal of tonsils, prostate and gall bladder surgery, hernia repairs, colonoscopies and varicose vein surgery.
• National average waiting times for all specialties are now 2.7 months.
• Patients have their treatment arranged free of charge and are treated in private hospitals in Ireland.
• Qualifying patients can be referred to the NTPF to have their treatment arranged in a number of ways: Patients can contact the NTPF directly on Lo-Call 1890 720 820 to check if they are eligible or they can be referred by their local hospital, health board, consultant or GP. The NTPF can also contact the patient directly with an offer of treatment.
• Patient feedback surveys show a satisfaction rate of 98% by patients treated by the Fund.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Kilkenny
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 4 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South
