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Health Minister’s stand-in demanded jewellery before treating epileptic teenager

Angry mum reveals incident at Dr James Reilly’s surgery

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, November 29, 2011, 8:49 AM

Updated Tuesday, November 29, 2011, 9:53 AM

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Dr James Reilly

Photo by Google Images

A Dublin woman has revealed how a doctor working at Health Minister James Reilly’s practise demanded that she hand over jewellery before he would treat her son as he suffered an epileptic fit.

Antoinette McLoughlin was met with the startling demand when she reported to Reilly’s North Dublin clinic in Skerries without her medical card.

She was forced to hand over her eternity ring before the stand-in doctor would treat her son Michael who had suffered an epileptic fit at the family home in the suburb of Lusk.

The incident occurred in 2006 but McLoughlin has only now gone public after Health Minister Reilly announced plans to introduce a $70 dollar annual fee for medical card holders and increased prescription charges.

The agency doctor was providing night-time cover for Dr Reilly when the McLoughlins arrived at the surgery.

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Mother of three Antoinette told the Irish Independent that she had rushed Michael, who suffers from fluid to the brain and epilepsy, to the clinic after he had a seizure at 9pm in the evening.

“I was there with a friend of mine and both of us were in pyjamas. He asked me for my medical card and I told him I did not have it. He said I would have to pay a fee. I told him I did not have my purse with me,” she said.

“He refused to see my son on the ground I did not have the medical card or cash with me.

“He told me I would have to give him something and said I had plenty of jewellery. I had my wedding ring, engagement ring and eternity ring. I gave him the eternity ring. He said he would give it back when I could give him the card number. Only then would he treat my son.

“The next morning he came to the house with the ring and I refused to take it back so he posted it through the letter box.”

The angry mother contacted a Dublin radio station when Reilly’s plans to change the medical card system first came to light.

“I wanted the doctor struck off. I did not want him to be a danger to other people around the country,” added McLoughlin who met Reilly and the doctor involved to discuss the incident shortly after it happened when the guilty doc ‘apologized profusely’ for his actions.

A spokesman for Minister Reilly has confirmed the incident took place but has denied McLoughlin’s claims that she was asked not to go public with her story at the time.

Dr Reilly’s spokesman added: “Mrs McLoughlin has remained a patient of Dr Reilly’s surgery and he is baffled that she should take this stand at this stage.”

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ciarajoyce | Dec 01, 2011, 12:10 AM EST

to mere falow: I'm not picking on you. People hear about the one or two bad doctors in a thousand. People who really want to be rich go to law school. There are indeed some well-behaved lawyers, but not very many, at least not in the big-money firms. They do have good press releases, and that's the difference. Getting through medical school in the US is a real rough haul. It takes a lot more than smarts (which are necessary); you've got to have a lot of drive and, as the wife of a man who'd just set up a practice told me, "You've got to really want it." Most doctors come out of med school with an obscene amount of debt, so they have to work long hours at their own or someone else's practice. Even then, if their service calls and says you called and what you describe is serious, that doctor, after a 12-hour day, will meet you in the ER. And they'll be in your hospital room once, often twice a day, even if a specialist takes over your care in hospital. There are doctors who are apparently just greedy or got greedy along the line, like MJ's doctor and many more in Hollywood. Most of the "big" salaries regular doctors make let them eat and think about a family while they're paying off their loans. They too would like to start a family while they're young enough to enjoy the kids, and maybe the grandkids. Given the hours they spend as interns and residents, and then working to pay off their loans, that's not too much to ask. When a doctor goes into a "single patient" practice, caring for just one rich person, they're looking for trouble. Very few will want to go back to the long days and middle-of-the-night phone calls that most doctors live with, so they do whatever the rich guy wants. They are exceptions, in my experience, which is more vast than I'd like it to be.

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Towngate | Nov 30, 2011, 07:16 AM EST

The Medical Card allows her free treatment for her son. Her only duty is to produce it! If she fails to do so, she is liable for doctors costs. She has proved herself capable of transporting her son to the surgery without The Card or Cash and kicking up an unholy row about an incident that she caused. All she had to do was the decent thing of producing the Medical Card - funded by Irish Taxpayers - and thanking the kind Doctor for seeing her son. Just another example of 'the world owes me a living' Ireland!

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greensod | Nov 29, 2011, 09:40 PM EST

The scum always floats to the top.

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merefalow | Nov 29, 2011, 09:30 PM EST

further proof of what it would be like without a free health service,britain take note this is what they want,to break the health service.talk about the hypocritic oath,this is what its like in that great capitalist country,usa,where 14 million people have no health cover at all,and it can ruin you financially if you have to pay for a realy serious health problem,do they care,not a bit american doctors are the countries top earners,little cuba who they have tried to destroy for 40 years,second best health care in the world after canada,that doctor,yuk.strike him off,let him become a banker,he,s more suited to that mercenary profession..

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cillowen | Nov 29, 2011, 07:59 PM EST

a relation of fox's O'Reilly.

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gobdawpaddy | Nov 29, 2011, 07:52 PM EST

Disgraceful. Hope Reilly is telling the truth as he appears to be a good guy.

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DanOLoingsigh | Nov 29, 2011, 07:23 PM EST

disgusting...

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