Written Answers Nos. 604-626
604. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the number of chairs of State boards that have been appointed since the Government came into office; if there is a remuneration for the position and if so the amount of same; if the appointee was required to go before Oireachtas Committees to discuss what they have to offer to the particular Board or Committee to which they are being appointed. [45822/12]
View answerThe information requested is being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.
605. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if home help hours will be increased in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45842/12]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
606. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health the reason a medical card was taken from a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45844/12]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.
607. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite an application for a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Laois; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45848/12]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.
608. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm the continued future of a health centre (details supplied) in Dublin 6 and if it envisaged that it will reopen on Thursdays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45861/12]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
609. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health when funding to ensure that residential services for persons with disabilities are independently inspected by the Health Information and Quality Authority will be made available; his plans to progress same; the date on which the inspections regime will begin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45881/12]
View answerThe Government is committed to ensuring that vulnerable people with disabilities in residential services are safeguarded and protected, and that their quality of life is enhanced. The current Programme for Government includes a specific commitment to put the draft standards developed by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) on a statutory footing and ensure that the services are inspected by HIQA. These draft standards outline what is expected of a provider of services and what a person with a disability, his or her family, and the public can expect to receive from residential care services.
The draft standards document is currently the subject of a 5 week consultation process prior to being finalised and brought before the board of HIQA. The final agreed standards will then be forwarded to my Department for approval with a likely publication date in January 2013. It is expected that the new regulatory system should be up and running by mid 2013. Work is also ongoing in my Department on both the 'Registration and Inspection' regulations and the 'Care and Welfare' regulations required to bring the standards into law. These are being developed taking into account the lessons learned from similar regulations for nursing homes.
My Department has been in active engagement with HIQA on the level of resources and staffing needed, particularly in the short term. 10 posts which will enable the Authority commence preparatory work for the registration and inspection regime have already been approved. My Department is continuing discussions with HIQA to determine the longer term staffing and resource requirements and these will be considered further in the context of the Department's 2013 estimates.
610. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health the measures taken to ensure the Time to Move On report is implemented in full; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45882/12]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.
611. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the accountability and oversight mechanism for the full implementation of consultants contracts, in relation to the public private mix of their work and the location of same; the frequency of inspection and reporting; if he is satisfied that consultants at St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin and elsewhere are fulfilling their public service obligations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45883/12]
View answerConsultant Contract 2008 limits private practice for newly-appointed consultants on a Type B or C contract to 20% of activity. The upper limit for consultants who held a contract prior to 2008 is 30%. The HSE has put in place arrangements to measure consultants' private practice and to pursue issues of compliance where necessary. The Contract provides for a series of steps to be taken where a consultant exceeds the level of private practice permitted in his or her contract.
Under Consultant Contract 2008 written notification must issue within a month to any Consultant who exceeds the permitted level of private practice. If the problem persists after six months has elapsed, further written notification issues and the Consultant is required to meet with the Clinical Director, Hospital Manager or Chief Executive Officer and a timetable established for resolution of the issue within the following three months. If the matter has not been resolved, the Contract provides that the employer may require the Consultant to remit the private practice fees in respect of the excess activity to a Research and Study Fund. The requirement that Consultants pay back excess fees is to ensure that monies arising from private practice in excess of the permitted limit revert to the public health system via the research and study fund.
The proposals which emerged as a result of the recent engagement at the Labour Relations Commission between health service employers and the two consultant representative bodies encompassed provisions regarding private practice. These include a commitment by consultants to measures that ensure that public patients waiting for elective care of any type are seen within clinically appropriate timeframes and that the entirety of the Consultant’s private activity, including in-patient, day-patient and out-patient activity, is within contractual limits. The parties also agreed that the current methodology and process for private practice measurement would be accepted as a minimum base for the purpose of determining compliance with contractual commitments on private practice. The proposals also provide for a much strengthened management role for Clinical Directors in respect of all consultants.
I have asked the HSE to reply directly to the Deputy in respect of consultants working at St Vincent's Hospital, and elsewhere, fulfilling their public service obligations. My Department recently wrote to the Deputy CEO of the HSE, emphasising the need for the management of individual hospitals (HSE or voluntary) to pursue full compliance with the terms of consultant contracts, including the provisions on private practice. I understand this requirement has been communicated by the HSE to all relevant management, including the CEO's of voluntary hospitals.
612. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health if there is any proposed legislation to deal with the administering by dentists of anaesthetic to vulnerable adults and their ability to consent to treatment. [45890/12]
View answerThe issue of consent to treatment where a person lacks the capacity to make a decision is an issue for all health professionals and not limited to dentists. Irish case law and national and international guidelines suggest that in making decisions for those who lack capacity, health and social care professionals should determine what is in the patient’s best interest, which is decided by reference to their values and preferences where known.
The Health Service Executive established the National Consent Advisory Group in June 2011. This group is multi-agency and multidisciplinary in membership. The aim of this group is to consider the issue of consent to examination and treatment in health and social care and to develop a national consent policy and was chaired by Dr. Deirdre Madden, senior lecturer in Law in UCC. A draft of the policy document was made available as part of a public consultation in May of this year, to which over 200 submissions were received. The final draft has been prepared and should be available in the near future. In addition, the Government legislation programme indicates that a Mental Capacity Bill is expected to be published in the current session which may address this issue.
613. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if it is the practice of hospitals and health insurance to charge for the use of a virtual bed or chair; and if so, if he will explain how this is defined and the costs involved. [45909/12]
View answerThe current in-patient charges are provided for by Section 55 of the Health Act 1970 (as amended). These charges are levied in respect of each day or part of a day during which in-patient services are availed of in respect of private, semi-private and day-care accommodation in public hospitals. These rates are set out in the following table.
|
- |
Hospital Category |
Private Accommodation |
Semi-Private Accommodation |
Day-care |
|
1 |
HSE Regional Hospitals, Voluntary & Joint Board Teaching Hospitals |
€1,046 |
€933 |
€753 |
|
2 |
HSE County Hospitals Voluntary Non-teaching Hospitals |
€819 |
€730 |
€586 |
|
3 |
HSE District Hospitals |
€260 |
€222 |
€193 |
The private in-patient daily charge of €75, subject to a maximum payment of €750 in any period of 12 consecutive months also applies.
614. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Health if epilepsy and epilepsy medication will be exempt from the Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods Bill, taking into account the fact that a change to a generic medication may impact negatively on persons who suffer from epilepsy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45913/12]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Bill, the Irish Medicines Board has statutory responsibility for establishing and publishing a list of interchangeable medicinal products in respect of which it is satisfied that all the medicinal products which fall into a group of interchangeable medicinal products are, for prescription purposes, interchangeable with each other. It is important to point out that generic medicines must meet exactly the same standards of quality and safety and have the same effect as the originator medicine. All of the generic medicines on the Irish market are required to be properly licensed and meet the requirements of the Irish Medicines Board. To further enhance the patient safety aspect of generic substitution, Section 13 of the Bill gives a prescriber the option of indicating on a prescription that a branded interchangeable medicinal product should, for clinical reasons, not be substituted.
The Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Bill 2012 was published on the 13th of July 2012. The Bill completed its passage through the Seanad on Wednesday, the 19th of September, and is currently continuing its passage through the Dáil. An Implementation Group on Generic Substitution and Reference Pricing has been established and it held its inaugural meeting on the 9th of August 2012. The Group is to meet with stakeholders, including the Irish Epilepsy Association, in the near future.
615. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Health the number of epilepsy sufferers here, by county, age and gender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45914/12]
View answerSince epilepsy is not covered by registration or notification, the detailed data on prevalence by county, age and gender requested by the Deputy is not available. National data on epilepsy is available from the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) Health Module. This was undertaken most recently in Quarter 3, 2010. The QNHS Health Module is a self-reported survey based on a sample of 15,673 persons over the age of 17. Respondents are asked if they have ever been diagnosed with epilepsy. The results, when grossed up to the national population, provide an estimate of approximately 16,000 persons over the age of 17 in Ireland having been diagnosed with epilepsy. This is broadly in line with international studies on the epidemiology of epilepsy. This survey-based figure, nevertheless, needs to be interpreted with caution both because it is based on self-reporting rather than definitive diagnosis and because it is based on small numbers (i.e. less than 1% of the sample). The small numbers preclude reliable breakdown of figures below the national level.
616. Deputy Ann Phelan asked the Minister for Health when the review of the fair deal scheme will be brought before the Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45920/12]
View answerWhen the Nursing Homes Support Scheme commenced in October 2009, a commitment was made that it would be reviewed after three years. The reason for allowing this period to elapse is to ensure that trends and statistics will be available in order to inform the work.
A public consultation process to inform the review concluded in mid-July. The Department will be publishing a summary report of the submissions received. Thereafter, the Department will be seeking tenders through the public procurement process for the carrying out of the review.
The Terms of Reference for the review of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme are:
Taking account of Government policy, demographic trends and the fiscal situation -
1. To examine the on-going sustainability of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme,
2. To examine the overall cost of long-term residential care in public and private nursing homes and the effectiveness of the current methods of negotiating/setting prices,
3. Having regard to 1. and 2. above, to consider the balance of funding between long-term residential care and community based services, and
4. To make recommendations for the future operation and management of the scheme.
As the Scheme is statutory based, the implementation of any recommendations arising from the review may require significant amendments to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act, 2009.
A considerable amount of preparatory work for the review has already been completed. It will progress within the constraints of available staff and other priorities. At this stage I envisage that the review will be completed in 2013.
617. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the total funding from his Department to a charity (details supplied) in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012; if he plans to further reduce the funding to this charity in 2013 [45921/12]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy. Pending completion of the national estimates, budgetary and service planning process for 2013 it is not possible to predict the service levels to be provided next year.
618. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Offaly may expect a hospital appointment [45927/12]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
619. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Offaly may expect a hospital appointment [45928/12]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
620. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will examine a medical card appeal application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45943/12]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.
621. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Health the current position in relation to the ring fencing of €35 million for mental health in his Department in December 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45951/12]
View answer670. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Health if the €5 million allocated in the Health Service Executive's 2012 National Service Plan for mental health in primary care and access to psychotherapy services will be spent for this purpose in 2012; when the ten posts for mental health in primary care and access to psychotherapy services will be filled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46298/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 621 and 670 together.
Funding from the €35 million special allocation for mental health will be used primarily to further strengthen Community Mental Health Teams in both Adult and Children’s mental health services. Some of the funding will also be used to advance activities in the area of suicide prevention and to initiate the provision of psychological and counselling services in primary care, specifically for people with mental health problems. 414 posts were approved to implement the €35 million package of special measures for mental health. While none of these staff are in place yet, 378 of the posts are with the National Recruitment Service of the HSE at various stages in the recruitment process, 231 job offers have already been accepted and the appointments are proceeding, 109 offers have been put to candidates to express an interest, 28 posts are being filled either through transfer or are being amalgamated with other posts and the 10 posts for the psychological and counselling services in primary care were advertised recently for a national panel. Interviews for the latter posts are scheduled for November 2012 and appointments are likely to start in early 2013. Most of the other start dates are expected to begin in December this year and costs will start to be incurred from that point.
This Government remains committed to engaging these professionals as soon as is feasible and the work of completing the process remains a priority. However, the provisional outturn for mental health services to mid-year was, like many other areas, running ahead of budget and the end of year excess in this area will be met from the unexpended portion of the €35 million.
622. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if he or his representatives have had contact with the National Asset Management Agency in respect of a property at 66, 68,70 Dublin Street, Balbriggan, County Dublin; and if so, the dates and nature of the contact [45959/12]
View answerMy officials and I met once this year with NAMA on 20 April 2012. Within its commercial remit NAMA advises that it is at all times open to proposals which can contribute to the achievement of broader social and economic objectives. In this context many issues of interest to the health services were discussed. A record of the meeting shows that a number of PCC locations were discussed, including Balbriggan. However, no specific address was mentioned.
623. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm the requirements to reform competition and practice in the health sector set out in the Memorandum of Understanding with the programme Troika; the dates on which such requirements are to be complied with. [45961/12]
View answerThe Memorandum of Understanding agreed with the EU/IMF in December 2010 provided that the Government would introduce legislative changes to remove restrictions to trade and competition in sheltered sectors including eliminating restrictions on the number of GPs qualifying and removing restrictions on GPs wishing to treat public patients as well as restrictions on advertising; ensuring that the elimination of the 50% mark-up paid for medicines under the State's Drugs Payments Scheme is enforced. The Health (Provision of General Practitioner Services) Act 2012 was enacted in February 2012 and commenced on 12 March 2012. It eliminates restrictions on fully qualified and trained GPs wishing to obtain contracts to treat public patients under the General Medical Services (GMS) contract. By 30 September 2012, 78 GPs had been granted a GMS contract by the Health Service Executive under the provisions of the Act and in excess of 40 applications are currently being processed. Legislation was not required in relation to the other provision of the Memorandum.
In relation to the number of GPs qualifying, the HSE and the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) have reached agreement on an alternative route to specialist registration for doctors who have extensive experience in General Practice, but who lack some component of training to become eligible for specialist registration as a GP. Details of this "practice based assessment model" were published on the ICGP website in September 2011. It is anticipated that the application period for this route to membership will open in early 2013.
In relation to restrictions on advertising, until 2009, the Medical Council's “Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Medical Professionals” placed advertising restrictions on new GPs. They were only allowed to advertise their arrival in an area by way of newspaper notices. Other methods of advertising, including notification of prices, were not allowed. The Medical Council’s current guidelines, published in November 2009, have removed these restrictions. GPs are now free to advertise their services and their prices.
In relation to the pharmacy profession, the 50% mark-up payable under the Drug Payment Scheme was reduced to 20% in 2009 by way of regulations made under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009. These regulations are enforced by the HSE. No further action is required under this heading.
626. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the reason a community centre (details supplied) in Dublin 6 has decided to close on Thursdays; the alternative that has been provided for users suffering from Dementia and if there are plans to close the kitchens in the centre. [45989/12]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
