Read the same on their website yesterday when I was booking to sort out an ingrown toenail. This is going to happen in September. They want to restrict to VHI customers only to maintain the max 1 hour waiting time according to their website. I see the waiting time for each clinic is now live on their website.
With people switching health insurers regularly are they trying to generate loyalty for VHI, or are they trying to get the other insurers to do deals with them? When we were with VHI we got 2 free visits per year to their swiftcare clinic. But I was very happy to pay the money to swiftcare now that we are with Laya.
When my kid twisted her ankle after slipping on the stairs I took her there. After a few days of limping I figured I better get it x-rayed, so I was at swiftcare at 8 am. By 10 am I had her back in school, on crutches (not broken, but torn ligaments), got the school secretary to sort out the insurance form and 4 days later the school insurance had paid back the full €225 for visit, X-ray and crutches. Going to A&E, I would have lost a full days work, sitting and waiting because she was not an urgent case.
Are there other alternatives to VHI swiftcare?