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 fifteen 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
