Your mother’s problem sounds very familiar. But one of the notable things about the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital is that it treats everyone the same in terms of queuing and priority – it states that quite clearly at the appointments desk – and as far as my being on VHI the only difference I can make out is the timing of the MRI scan, although as I say I don’t know if there would have been a much longer wait if I wasn’t on VHI.

Funnily enough, the bill arrived for the scan yesterday, which VHI paid for – and it was only €170, I thought it would have been much more. However, the thing about the scan was that, because both of my eyes were affected, that indicated a potential problem in my brain, which needed to be ruled out. It would not have been necessary with just one eye, as in your mother’s case, because that sounds like a more localised problem. At least, that is as far as I can gather, after a conversation with my doctor, and with the very limited information I have to hand.

If I were your mother I’d get her doctor to write a referral letter to the Eye and Ear, and show up in A&E bright and early one morning to get to the top of the queue. That way she’ll get free, expert attention. (Even without the referral letter, the fee to pay is just €66.) But she’ll have to be prepared to hang around for a long time anyway, like everyone else. I’d say “bring a book” but the frustrating thing is, once they put dilating drops in your eyes, you can’t see a bloody thing. Oh, and don’t expect to be able to drive home afterwards.

If a doctor is medieval, change doctors!