Almost €33m spent on sending people abroad for psychiatric care

Ken Foxe

The HSE has spent almost €33 million over the past three years sending a small number of Irish people abroad for psychiatric care.

The annual cost per patient has been in the region of €1.26 million, according to data released under FOI.

Yearly spending has also surged in recent years, rising from €4.4 million in 2022 to €12.3 million the following year.

A further €10.6 million was spent by the HSE on psychiatric care abroad in 2024, and €9.98 million last year.

Over the past eleven years, payments to providers of specialised mental health treatment have totalled €45 million.

The figures show, however, that the number of patients sent abroad each year has remained in single digits, despite the dramatic rise in spending.

Last year, the cost per patient for the eight individuals treated was €1.25 million, according to the figures.

For 2024, the average bill for the nine people cared for overseas was slightly lower at €1.18 million.

However, in 2023, the highest figure of all was recorded when the cost per patient worked out at a staggering €1.36 million.

All of the patients were treated at facilities in the United Kingdom, but the HSE said it would not provide a breakdown by hospital or city.

They also said it would not be possible to provide the number of patients treated in some years because of the risk of identification.

The Health Service Executive said patients could be sent overseas for a number of reasons, for example, if specialist mental health treatment is required but is unavailable in Ireland.

In the period between 2015 and 2024, 21 referrals were made from HSE Mental Health Services and 16 from acute hospitals.

A statement said: “The HSE Treatment abroad scheme covers the cost of planned treatment in another country in the European Union European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland.

“If the treatment needed is publicly available in Ireland, it can be accessed through the: Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme (NIPHS) or Cross Border Directive Scheme.”