7,970 Mayo patients receive bills from the HSE for outstanding charges

A total of 7,970 Mayo patients received invoiced from the HSE on August 5 last in respect of the authority's 'Pay A Bill' service.

The data has been published following questions raised by Councillor Michael Kilcoyne.

He also asked when a decision was made that representations being made by public representatives, on behalf of a constituent, would not be accepted in these cases.

In response, a HSE West sportsperson said: "The HSE issued reminder letters regarding outstanding public charges which may relate to a visit to the emergency department, a visit to a Local Injury Unit, an inpatient stay prior to May 2023, charges applicable to non-EU residents in the HSE West and North West area between June 30 and August 5.

Portiuncula 5,257.

Roscommon 2,906.

Letterkenny 2,409.

Sligo 9,058.

Mayo 7,970.

"We anticipate that reminder letter will issue to patents in the Galway area in September/October.

"If any patient wishes to query a bill they received, they can email payabill@hse.ie or call the HSE on 1800852445 and the team will be happy to assist in any way possible.

"The HSE has a statutory obligation to levy and collect charges with regards to emergency department or Local Injury Unit presentations, coupled with inpatient charges where appropriate (inpatient charges were levied only up to April 16, 2023).

"We are happy to address representations from elected officials through the Regional Health Forum office or the usual representation process, in line with the policies in place to govern that process."