Healthcare
The healthcare system and nutrition
The health services in Ireland are centrally directed by the department of Health. Ireland has a health care system with a public and a private sector. The public health care system is mainly tax funded. Primary health practitioner and other medical services are provided free of charge to all people below a set level of income. The private health care system is funded by the private health insurance companies. About half of the population has a voluntary private health insurance. Around one third of the population can access public services free of charge (Iveagh House, headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2013, Coughlan; Turner & Trujillo 2013, McDaid, Wiley, Maresso, Mossialos 2009). Anyone who is ordinarily resident in Ireland, or who moves to and is accepted as being ordinarily resident in the State, is eligible for public health services. Visit www.hse.ie for further information
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The Dietitian can be accessed while in hospital, through primary care outside of the hospital and in private practice.
In hospital the Dietitian works closely with other members of the multi-disciplinary team. The Dietitians are responsible for the nutritional care of patients while in the hospital setting.
- They carry out nutritional assessment of patients and design care plans to meet nutritional requirements or correct poor nutritional status.
- Where necessary the Dietitian will organise nutritional support (tube feeding or intravenous feeding).
- Dietitians liaise with the catering department to provide patients with therapeutic diets, which are used to optimise the well being of patients with specific medical conditions.
- Dietitians give advice and education on the diseases regarding to nutrition.
To access a hospital Dietitian, a referral is required from one of the members from the medical team. The patient can be seen by the Dietitian as an in-patient, and / or in the out-patient department after they have been discharged.
In the primary care the Dietitian is linked to the primary care team which includes GP and Practise Nurse, Physiotherapist and Community Nursing Service. A patient can be referred to the Dietitian through their GP (General Practitioner in Medicine) or Practice Nurse. A referral from a GP is not required to consult a Dietitian in a private practice. They can be approached directly by the patient/client.
According to a publication in 2011, the poor access to Dietetic services is a problem for GP’s who wish to refer socio-economically deprived patients for treatment of obesity via the public health scheme.
Private dietetic practices are not yet very common in Ireland and it’s a new and upcoming setting for the Dietitian to work in. Check this website https://www.indi.ie/find-a-dietitian/nutrition-consultants.html?layout=ed or the Self-Employed Dietitians of Ireland SEDI https://corknutrition.ie/sedi/sedi-members-contact-details/ to see all Nutrition Consultancies that are registered at the Irish Nutrition + Dietetic Institute. You do not need a referral from you GP to consult a Dietitian in a private practice. A Dietitian in a private practice will assess, diagnose and treat diet and nutrition problems at an individual and wider public health level.
If the Dietitian is a member of the Irish Nutrition & Dietetic institute, and if approved by all the major health insurers in the Irish Market, up to 50% of the fee (per visit) can be claimed back. The cover of a Dietitian differs between the health insurance companies and the kind of health insurance package.
Sources: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Health Service Executive, Floyd et al.,(2011), Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, Self-Employed Dietitians of Ireland