ESAIS Is a Step Forward—But Patients Are Still Carrying Too Much of the Burden

📢 Petition Update

Today I’ve published a new article sharing my experience of travelling through the Endometriosis Specialist Abroad Interim Scheme (ESAIS).

I want to be clear: I am grateful that this scheme exists. As one of the first patients approved, I know how significant it is that Ireland finally has a pathway for some patients to access specialist endometriosis care abroad.

However, my experience also highlights where improvements are still needed.

While my flight was eventually reimbursed, I still had to crowdfund my medical journey to to pay for flights, accommodation, internal transport and other essential travel costs that are not covered by the scheme. I also experienced unnecessary administrative stress, including confusion at the overseas clinic about the ESAIS pathway, reimbursement disputes and receiving an invoice from the London clinic weeks after my scans.

These are burdens that patients living with chronic pain and complex illness should not have to carry.

I recognise that ESAIS is a new initiative and, like any new scheme, there will be teething problems. But those challenges should be resolved behind the scenes—not by patients who are already navigating delayed diagnoses, financial hardship and life-changing illness.

This is exactly why I continue to call for a National Inquiry into endometriosis care in Ireland. We need to understand not only how so many patients became complex cases, but also the financial, practical and emotional burden they continue to face while trying to access appropriate care.

If you support this campaign, there are three ways you can help:

📖 Read the full article:
https://open.substack.com/pub/doireannbarrett/p/plane-ticket-isnt-access-to-healthcare?r=2lilgm&utm_medium=ios

✍️ Sign the petition:
https://www.change.org/p/issue-an-expert-irish-endometriosis-framework-let-us-have-a-national-inquiry

💚 Support Cneasú Ireland’s advocacy, awareness and patient support work:
https://www.idonate.ie/crowdfunder/Cneasu

Thank you to everyone who has stood beside this campaign. Every signature, every share, every donation and every conversation helps us move one step closer to meaningful change.