Written Answers Nos. 809-833
809. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health his plans to address the waiting times for hospital appointments and procedures for public patients compared with the priority service being provided to private patients. [5342/13]
View answerThe National Waiting List Management Policy promotes a standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures. The policy advises hospitals that the process for scheduling patients for admission applies to both public and private patients. i.e. once clinical urgency has been taken into account patients should be scheduled in chronological order.
I have no role to play in the day to day running of private hospitals. In July 2011, I announced the establishment of the Special Delivery Unit as a key part of my plans to radically reform the health system in Ireland. The Unit’s purpose is to improve access to the emergency and elective care system. Since it was established last year, it has been working to unblock public access to acute services by improving patient journeys through the system and by streamlining public hospital waiting lists, I am pleased to be able to say that very significant progress has been made by the SDU in relation to both emergency departments and waiting lists.
Scheduled care – in-patient and daycase
- The initial focus for the SDU's Scheduled Care Team has been on waiting times for in-patient and daycase elective surgery
- By the end of December 2012, the number of adults having to wait more than 9 months for inpatient and day case surgery was down to 86 from 3,706 in December 2011, a 98% decrease
- The number of children waiting over 20 weeks for inpatient or daycase surgery was down to 89 from 1,759 in December 2011, a 95% decrease
- The number of patients waiting over 13 weeks for a routine endoscopy procedure went down from 4,590 in December 2011 to 36 at the end of December 2012, a 99% decrease.
Outpatient services
- Improving access to outpatient services is also a priority for the Government and for the SDU Scheduled Care Team
- Building on work already undertaken by the HSE, the NTPF has now taken over the reporting of outpatient waiting time data. For the first time, clear and comprehensive data are available on www.ptr.ie
- The data now being collected will allow the SDU and NTPF to target their resources towards those patients who are waiting longest and ensure that they are seen and assessed. A maximum waiting time target has now been set of 12 months for a first time outpatient appointment by 30 November 2013.
In the coming months, as winter pressures in Emergency Departments ease, the SDU will work towards re-balancing scheduled care to maintain the improvements seen in 2012 and to achieve the new 2013 target that no adult should be waiting > 8 months for in patient and day case surgery.
These significant improvements in access and experience are being achieved despite the economic and budgetary pressures which must be dealt with and managed. They reflect the my commitment, and that of this Government, to ensuring patients can access the acute hospital services they need, when they need them.
811. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there is double charging of the prescription charge on medical card holders where the prescription item, as prescribed by the general practitioner, is not available in the milligram dosage prescribed, that is 15 mg of a given tablet is only available in 10 mg and 5 mg, and 7.5 mg of a given tablet is only available in 5 mg and 2.5 mg, which means that in each case the patient concerned was charged €3 rather than the €1.50 per prescription item; if he will clarify the situation and instruct the pharmacy sector to charge only per item as prescribed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5361/13]
View answerMedical card holders are required to pay a €1.50 charge per item for medicines and other prescription items supplied to them by community pharmacists, subject to a cap of €19.50 per month for each person or family. Charges are not payable in respect of items supplied under the Long Term Illness Scheme. Prescription charges do not apply to children in the care of the HSE or to methadone supplied to patients participating in the Methadone Treatment Scheme.
If there is a particular case to which the Deputy is referring and he provides the details, the HSE can investigate the matter.
813. Deputy Damien English asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details of all funding programmes in his Department that community, voluntary and sporting organisations may apply to for funding; if he will provide a brief overview of each programme; the opening and closing dates of each programme; the minimum and maximum amounts of funding that may be applied for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5385/13]
View answerMy Department administers a National Lottery Discretionary Fund from which once-off grants are paid to community and voluntary organisations, providing a range of health related services. Applications come primarily from community groups and voluntary organisations with an involvement in the provision of health services to specific client groups (for example persons with an intellectual disability and/or physical disability, elderly, etc.), national groups providing information and support for various disabilities and illnesses and groups with a specific interest (for example to provide holidays for the elderly, respite, equipment for hospitals, homes, etc.)
Applications are currently being accepted for consideration by my Department. The closing date for completed applications is 12 noon on Friday 30th August 2013. There is no upper or lower limit an organisation can apply for, however there is a limited amount of funds available and a large number of funding requests are received each year.
If an organisation wishes to make an application for National Lottery Funding they should send in a formal application. Detailed procedures, along with the application form are set out on the Department's website - www.doh.ie.
814. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will be called to Cork University Hospital for surgery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5399/13]
View answerThe management of inpatient and daycase waiting lists for patients awaiting public health care is based on the principle that after urgent and cancer patients are treated, then clinically assessed routine patients should be seen in chronological order (i.e. longest waiter first).
Should the patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he/she would be in the best position to take the matter up with the consultant and hospital involved.
In relation to the specific query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
815. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the reason for the delay in processing a medical card application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5419/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
817. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Health if a medical card application being reviewed will be expedited in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5435/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
818. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health when two new emergency monitoring units for epilepsy in Cork University Hospital and Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, will be open and operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5440/13]
View answer839. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Health when the redeveloped epilepsy monitoring unit at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, and the new epilepsy monitoring unit at Cork University Hospital, both completed last October but remain unopened, will be made functional; when he expects the personnel necessary for the units to be recruited; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are no functioning epilepsy monitoring units in this country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5624/13]
View answer852. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health when the redeveloped epilepsy monitoring unit at Beaumont Hospital Dublin, and the new epilepsy monitoring unit at Cork University Hospital, both completed last October but remaining unopened, will be made functional; when he expects the personnel necessary for the units to be recruited; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are currently no functioning epilepsy monitoring unit in the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5807/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 818, 839 and 852 together.
Cork and Beaumont are two of six regional centres which have been identified for the provision of specialist epilepsy services under the HSE's National Clinical Care Programme for Epilepsy. It is intended that services will be provided by a team of nurses and consultant neurologists working as a virtual national network supporting all acute and primary care locations. Rapid Access Clinics (separate to the Epilepsy Monitoring Units) have been developed at four of centres so far, and 10.5 (WTE) Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) have been recruited to lead these clinics, so that a total of 12 ANPs are now in place across the four centres.
Regarding the Epilepsy Monitoring Units in CUH and Beaumont, these when open will increase pre-surgical evaluation capacity. Monitoring is required for the most vulnerable patients with the worst effects of epilepsy and their development is therefore a priority for the Programme. Patients at these units will require 24/7 care and the staffing requirements to enable the units to be safely opened have been identified.
With regard to Beaumont, the HSE has advised that Beaumont Hospital and the HSE are working jointly to fill the posts necessary to support the service development. I am advised that the staffing required for the unit includes five staff nurses, one consultant neurophysiologist and three technicians. Of these, three staff nurse posts and one technician post remain to be recruited and I am informed that this is being prioritised. The recruitment of nursing personnel is a key element to facilitate phased opening of the unit as nursing staff come into post.
With regard to Cork, the HSE has advised that the Service Plan for 2013 for CUH is being drawn up currently and will be finalised in the coming weeks, and that the provision of additional staff for the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit is being considered as part of that process.
819. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if the Health Service Executive has incurred any costs in sending epilepsy patients abroad for treatment; the extent of any such costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5441/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has confirmed that the following figures relate to the number of patients with Epilepsy who have availed of treatment under the provisions of the Treatment Abroad Scheme. These figures relate to patients who have been identified as having Epilepsy but in some cases other illnesses were present.
|
Year |
Number of Patients |
Cost of Treatment |
Cost of Travel |
|
2011 |
2 |
€3,006.05 |
0 |
|
2012 |
10 |
€191,034.44 |
€2,682,64 |
|
2013 to date |
0 |
0 |
0 |
820. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Carlow will receive a decision on a medical card application. [5456/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
821. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the nursing home support scheme [5459/13]
View answerI accept fully that the increase in the asset contribution under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme which was announced in Budget 2013 is not solely for the purpose of allowing financial support to be given to additional applicants in 2013.
The Scheme is, and will remain, a significant cost for the HSE. Having regard to the average cost of care in public and private nursing homes and the average contribution made by residents, the HSE currently meets between 69% to 80% of the cost of care, depending on the nursing home involved. Even after the increased asset contribution comes into effect, the HSE will continue to meet the greater part of these costs.
Given the extreme pressure that now exists on HSE funding across the full range of its services, it is necessary to apply an increase to the amounts that nursing home residents contribute towards their cost of care. These contributions remain based on the means of the individuals concerned, and on their ability to pay.
I would refer again to the safeguards of the Scheme which I outlined in detail in my answer to the Deputy’s earlier question of the 22nd January 2013.
822. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will be called for an MRI scan at Kerry General Hospital [5462/13]
View answerThe management of inpatient and daycase waiting lists for patients awaiting public health care is based on the principle that after urgent and cancer patients are treated, then clinically assessed routine patients should be seen in chronological order (i.e. longest waiting first).
Should the patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he/she would be in the best position to take the matter up with the consultant and hospital involved.
In relation to the specific query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
823. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Health the reason that newborn children in County Galway do not receive the BCG vaccination; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that every other area in the country gives the vaccination; the actions that he is taking to address the problem; if he has considered running monthly clinics to provide the vaccination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5467/13]
View answerThe National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) recommends a universal neonatal BCG vaccination policy. Historically, BCG vaccination is given in HSE West to children in 5th/6th class in primary schools and also to infants in the 'at risk' categories. This continues with the agreement of the NIAC. The latest validated figures for epidemiology of TB in Ireland relates to 2009. In 2009, the national rate of TB was 11.3 per 100,000 of the population ranging from 5.1 in HSE West to 15.7 in HSE East. In 2012, the provisional national rate of TB incidence was 8.3 per 100,000 of the population, ranging from 5.0 in HSE South East to 11.0 in HSE South.
824. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Health the number of inpatient admissions and surgeries that were cancelled at Kerry General Hospital over the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5473/13]
View answerIn relation to the specific queries raised by the Deputy, as these are service matters they have been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
825. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Health the dates and number of times that the board of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland met in the past year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5475/13]
View answerThe Board of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland meet four times last year. They met on Wednesday 11 January, Wednesday 16 May, Thursday 9 August and Thursday 15 November.
826. Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update and detailed timeline on progress regarding the development of a new primary care facility at two locations (details supplied) in Counties Meath and Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5496/13]
View answerLaytown / Bettystown, Co. Meath and North Drogheda, Co. Louth are two of the 35 potential locations for primary care centres for development by way of PPP as announced in the July 2012 Infrastructure Stimulus Package. Of the 35, approximately 20 will be offered to the market subject to a) agreement between the local GPs and the HSE on active local GP involvement in the centres and b) site suitability and availability. The HSE is currently analysing the available sites in each location and engaging with the GPs in each location to determine their interest in participating in the primary care centre development. While it is not possible, at this time, to give start and completion dates for any of the individual 20 potential locations, the best estimate is that these primary care centres will be completed by late 2016.
827. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if his Department has employed the services of management consultants to advise on cost reductions in the Voluntary Health Insurance company; the recommendations being made to him in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5500/13]
View answerIn 2012, VHI commissioned Milliman management consultants to undertake a review of its claims management. This external review looked at the opportunities and costs involved in possible reductions in utilisation that can be achieved by implementing appropriate utilisation management approaches. This is a major element of the VHI's drive to manage costs.
I have met with Milliman consultants who presented various cost savings initiatives for consideration by the VHI. The next phase of this review involves the development of a Utilisation Management Plan by VHI, which is now progressing.
Given the VHI's very significant share of the overall costs in the market, I will continue to focus strongly on the need for the VHI to address its costs and to address aggressively the base cost of procedures, including professional fees, with a view to containment and reduction of its overall cost base. I am keen to explore all available measures to limit the costs related to private health insurance and have made it clear to the health insurers that I believe that significant savings can be made, with a view to minimising need for increases in premiums. I welcome VHI's shared commitment to addressing the issue of costs containment.
828. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Health the current number of vacancies for graduate physiotherapists in the Health Service Executive; his plans to fill these vital posts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5507/13]
View answerAs the issue raised is a matter for the HSE, I have requested the Executive to respond directly to the Deputy with the details requested.
829. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Health the current number of vacancies for graduate speech and language therapists in the Health Service Executive; his plans to fill these vial posts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5508/13]
View answerAs the issue raised is a matter for the HSE, I have requested the Executive to respond directly to the Deputy with the details requested.
830. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a medical card application in respect of a person (details supplied); the reason information detailing a change of financial circumstances has not been accepted in this case; and if that information could now be accepted and the application re-examined. [5538/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
831. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if he intends to adequately compensate the remaining Thalidomide victims; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5593/13]
View answerThere are currently 32 Irish thalidomide survivors. Each survivor received lump sums payments from a German Foundation and the Irish Government in the early 1970s. In 1975 the lump-sums paid by the Irish Government ranged from €6,400 to €21,000. In addition, each survivor receives on going monthly payments from both the German Foundation and the Irish Government. Combining the German and Irish payments, most individuals receive €30,386 per annum or €2,572 per month tax free. The German and the Irish monthly allowance is not reckonable for State benefits and each individual is automatically entitled to a medical card.
Given the challenges that persist for each individual, this Government's aim is to address the health and personal social care needs of thalidomide survivors living in Ireland. I have stated that I am willing to enter into discussions about a health care package on a non-statutory basis; an ex-gratia payment having regard to current financial circumstances; and a statement to the Dáil recognising the challenges faced by survivors.
There are two thalidomide representative organisations. The largest group, the Irish Thalidomide Association, announced publicly in 2012 that it had ceased talks with the Government and their legal advisors have initiated personal injuries claims for damages against the State.
The other group, the Irish Thalidomide Survivors Society have sought an independent agency and a statutory health care package including other aspects of their needs such as housing, heating, transport and clothing, which are outside the remit of the health sector. I am not in a position to meet the demands of the Irish Thalidomide Survivors Society. My position remains unchanged from that outlined in my letter to the Irish Thalidomide Survivors Society in June last year in which I requested that the Society consider, in good faith, proceeding with a Health Care Protocol which envisaged appointing and training a multidisciplinary team, arranging a multidisciplinary health evaluation, identifying and documenting their health care needs/issues and developing plans to address those needs/issues.
832. Deputy Anthony Lawlor asked the Minister for Health the progress being made with regard to the extension of access to general practitioner services without fees, to persons with illnesses or disabilities, that will be prescribed by regulations under new legislation; when the legislation is due to be published; if non Cf Bronchiectasis will be included in these regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5597/13]
View answer854. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a timeframe for the introduction of free general practitioner services for those who are entitled to free drugs under the long-term illness scheme and for those in the high tech drugs scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5812/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 832 and 854 together.
The Programme for Government commits to reforming the current public health system by introducing Universal Health Insurance with equal access to care for all. As part of this, the Government is committed to introducing, on a phased basis, GP care without fees within its first term of office. Primary legislation is required to give effect to Government commitment to introduce a universal GP service without fees.
Legislation to allow the Minister for Health to make regulations to extend access to GP services without fees to persons with prescribed illnesses is currently being drafted by the Office of the Attorney General and the Department and it will be published shortly. Implementation dates and application details will be announced in due course.
An annual budget of €15 million was provided for the first phase of the roll out of GP care without fees.
833. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in County Cork has been refused a medical card; if he will reconsider this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5599/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
