Written Answers Nos. 694 - 716
695. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Health if the drug Lidnocaine given to people with MS is being provided on a sufficiently regular basis to patients; and if there has been cuts to this in 2011, 2012 or planned for 2013. [7144/13]
View answerLidocaine products are included on the HSE List of Reimbursable Items as follows:
|
LIDOCAINE PRODUCTS |
HSE List of Reimbursable Items |
|
LIDOCAINE |
Versatis Medicated Plasters 5% 30 |
|
LIDOCAINE, COMBINATIONS |
Instillagel 11 ml. |
|
LIDOCAINE, COMBINATIONS |
Instillagel 6 ml. |
|
METHYLPREDNISOLONE with LIDOCAINE |
Depo-Medrone c. Lidocaine Inj. 40 mg./ml. 1 ml. 10 |
|
METHYLPREDNISOLONE with LIDOCAINE |
Depo-Medrone c. Lidocaine Inj. 40 mg./ml. 2 ml. 1 |
The HSE has confirmed that the Versatis 5% (Plaster) was added to the List of Reimbursable Items in January 2011. There have been no further changes in the reimbursement status of Lidocaine products for 2011 and 2012, and no changes are planned for 2013.
696. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for Health the timeline for the publication of the national positive ageing strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7157/13]
View answerThe Programme for Government has committed to completing and implementing the National Positive Ageing Strategy so that older people are recognised, supported and enabled to live independent full lives.
The Strategy will be a high level document outlining Ireland’s vision for ageing and older people and the national goals and objectives required to promote positive ageing. It will be an over-arching cross-departmental policy that will be the blueprint for age related policy and service delivery across Government in the years ahead.
The Strategy is being developed within the constraints of the present fiscal situation. The intention of the Strategy is not to propose new service developments. The strategy will set the strategic direction for Government policy on ageing by outlining the priority areas requiring action. It will be a matter for individual Departments/agencies to identify how best they respond to the challenges posed by an ageing population.
A considerable amount of preparatory work has already been completed and consultation with other Government Departments is ongoing. It is my intention that a draft of the Strategy will be brought to Government as soon as possible this year.
697. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if he will clarify the level of prioritisation by the Health Service Executive capital steering committee of the new surgical and ED block development at Sligo Regional Hospital; if he will outline the time frame within which this critical infrastructure for the north west region will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7164/13]
View answerThe method and timescale for the delivery of health care infrastructure is a dynamic process which is constantly evolving to take account of changing circumstances, including the feasibility of implementation. There will always be more construction projects than can be funded by the Exchequer. The Health Service Executive must prioritise infrastructure projects within its overall capital envelope taking into account its existing capital commitments and costs to completion over the period.
As the delivery of healthcare infrastructure is a service matter the Deputy's question has been referred to the Executive for direct reply.
698. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health when a decision will issue on an application for a medical card application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7166/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
699. Deputy Áine Collins asked the Minister for Health the reason for the undue delay in assessing a medical card application (details supplied) in County Cork that has been referred to medical assessors. [7167/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
700. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health when a decision on a medical card application will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7171/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
701. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) was referred to Crumlin Hospital, Dublin, nine months ago and recently his parents received a letter informing them that the waiting list is so long that he will not be even put on it. [7174/13]
View answerIn relation to the particular query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy in this matter.
702. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Health when he expects to introduce legislation to provide for an opt-out system of organ donation; if other incentives to donation are being considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7175/13]
View answerThe Programme for Government envisages the introduction of an opt-out system of organ donation, with a view to improving the availability of organs for patients in need of transplantation. This will of course require detailed consideration and further consultation and I am developing proposals for Government on this matter.
In addition to consent systems, there is evidence from other countries that good co-ordination at hospital level and counselling arrangements for relatives are significant factors in achieving high organ donation rates. In conjunction with the HSE's National Organ Donation and Transplantation Office I am also examining what practices and organisational changes could further improve donation rates in this country.
The Deputy may also wish to note that following discussions between my Department and the Road Safety Authority, the new Driving Licence Application Form contains a question asking applicants if they would like a code to be placed on their driving licence indicating their wish to become an organ donor. Since the introduction of a new type of driving licence on 19 January, the code that will appear on new driving licences issued to people who indicate that they wish to become an organ donor, is 115. My Department has written to the National Organ Donation and Transplantation Office and the Regional Directors of Operations in the HSE asking them to alert relevant hospital staff to this initiative and to the code which will appear on new driving licences of people who wish to donate. My Department is also in discussion with the Department of Social Protection with a view to including a similar code on the Public Services Card.
703. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if an arrangement will be made to continue to facilitate a person (details supplied) in County Kildare at Maynooth day care centre and Moyglare nursing home, with particular reference to wheelchair friendly transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7181/13]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
704. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Health if, in the context of the forthcoming voluntary scheme as proposed for employees in the health service, he will outline the categories of such employees who will be permitted to participate in the said scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7186/13]
View answerThe Government has decided that the numbers employed across the public service must be reduced in order to meet its fiscal and budgetary targets. The health sector must make its contribution to that reduction. This policy requires that by the end of 2013, the health service achieves a workforce of 98,955 whole time equivalents (WTEs). While normal retirement and redeployment will achieve part of the required reduction, a targeted programme of voluntary redundancy in certain parts of the health service will also be introduced as a means of achieving the full reductions required. The HSE has been asked to consider the most appropriate way of targeting this scheme in order to ensure that any impact on frontline service delivery is minimised.
It is not possible at this stage to say which categories of health care workers will be eligible to apply.
706. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health his plans to investigate the role played by consultant psychiatrists and medical staff in having people incarcerated into mental institutions for deviant behaviour in the 1950s and 1960s, when medically there was nothing wrong with them; and the way redress and an apology can be delivered to these victims and their families. [7198/13]
View answerI have no plans to carry out an investigation along the lines suggested by the Deputy. The Involuntary admission of persons to a psychiatric hospital or unit in the 1950's and 1960's was governed by the 1945 Mental Treatment Act. The 1945 Act allowed for the admission and detention without their consent, of a person as a 'temporary patient' or a 'person of unsound mind' following an application received and accompanied by a medical certificate, signed by a doctor and on foot of a reception order signed by a consultant psychiatrist.
There were no provisions in the 1945 Act for an automatic right of appeal to an independent judicial body against a person's involuntary detention in a psychiatric hospital. However, the Act did provide patients with the right to write a letter to the Minister for Health & Children, the Inspector of Mental Hospitals or the President of the High Court. It also required the Inspector of Mental Hospitals, in the course of his inspections, to visit any patient "the propriety of whose detention he had reason to doubt".
The Mental Health 2001 Act significantly modernised procedures relating to involuntary admission by establishing for the first time independent Mental Health Tribunals which review, and affirm or revoke detention orders. Patients now have the right to be heard and to be legally represented at the Tribunal.
The Mental Health Act 2001, is being reviewed at present in line with the commitment contained in the Programme for Government to review the Act "informed by human rights standards and in consultation with service users, carers and other stakeholders" and the Government and I attach great importance to the review. A Steering Group established in 2011 to oversee the first part of the review published their Interim Report on 21 June 2012 and this is available on my Department's website. In August last year, I announced the membership of an Expert Group to carry out the second and substantive phase of the review. The Expert Group is continuing its deliberations and is expected to produce its report in quarter 2 2013.
707. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason the Health Service Executive did not fund Helping Hands Mediation Agency, as agreed, when it was re accredited last October; and his plans he has to deal with this situation. [7199/13]
View answerAs this a service matter I have requested the Health Service Executive to issue a reply directly to the Deputy.
708. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Health if he will review a case regarding drug provision by the Health Service Executive. (details supplied). [7227/13]
View answerThe HSE is responsible for the administration of treatment in this case, therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
709. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on behalf of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath in respect of their mobility allowance, which was cut off in March 2012 without prior notification, or explanation, or consideration that they have very limited mobility due to prosthetic limbs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7231/13]
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.
710. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if a second shoulder operation will be arranged at Waterford Regional Hospital in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny. [7242/13]
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.
711. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if a medical card will be approved in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny. [7250/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
713. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health his views on the availability of cochlear ear implants for both ears (details supplied) in Dublin 13; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7263/13]
View answerBeaumont Hospital is the centre for delivering Ireland’s national cochlear implant programme with surgical provision for patients under six (6) years carried out in the Children’s University Hospital at Temple Street. Since the programme commenced seventeen years ago, over 700 patients have received cochlear implants. I am advised that Beaumont Hospital carried out over ninety cochlear implants in 2012 and that over seven hundred patients are currently under the care of the hospital programme which provides rehabilitation and programming on a recurring basis. I understand that Beaumont Hospital, HSE Management and the HSE’s Audiology Clinical Care Programme (ACCP) have met recently to discuss a joint process to identify the options for developing and resourcing a programme of simultaneous cochlear implantation in children into the future. An important element of this will be the development of clear clinical criteria to prioritise clients for assessment and follow on implantation. In relation to the specific patient queries raised by the Deputy, as these are service issues they have been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
714. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Health the total funding allocated in each of the past five years in each specific health area for programmes (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7266/13]
View answerDetails of the overall gross non-capital mental health budget are published annually in the Revised Book of Estimates. Based on that information, the table details the mental health budget for each of the years 2008 - 2012 inclusive:
|
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
|
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
|
€1,043 |
€1,006 |
€963,324 |
€712,000 |
€711,000 |
The estimated provision for mental health in 2013 is €733 million. About 1 in 4 people will experience some mental health problems in their lifetime, approximately 90% of mental health problems are dealt with in primary care and some 30% of people who attend primary care have a mental health problem and expenditure on these services is not captured in the mental health budgets detailed above.
Funding for suicide prevention is provided to the National Office for Suicide Prevention by the HSE from its overall budget for mental health. Funding provided in the years 2008 to 2012 is as follows:
|
Year |
Funding |
|
- |
€m |
|
2008 |
4.5 |
|
2009 |
4.3 |
|
2010 |
3.7 |
|
2011 |
4.1 |
|
2012 |
7.1 |
The provision to the National Office for 2013 is €8.1m. A further €5 million is available regionally within the HSE to fund Resource Officers for Suicide Prevention, Self-Harm Liaison Nurses in Hospital Emergency Departments and local suicide prevention initiatives.
In relation to the specific question on funding for Advocacy and support groups in the mental health and suicide areas, as this is a service matter, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
715. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Health when a hospital appointment will be made in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7275/13]
View answerImproving access to outpatient services is a key priority for the Government. 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 is available on www.ptr.ie. The collation and analysis of outpatient waiting time data in a standardised format will reveal the distribution of long waiters across all hospitals. In the first instance, this 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 parallel with reducing the numbers of longest waiters, the SDU will also work with the HSE Clinical Programmes to reform the structure, organisation and delivery of outpatient services to ensure that the right patient is seen and assessed by the right health professional at the right time.
In relation to the particular query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy in this matter.
716. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health if it is order for general practitioners to charge medical card holders for Warfarin readings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7277/13]
View answerThe current General Medical Services (GMS) General Practitioner (GP) Capitation Contract was introduced in 1989 and is based on a diagnosis and treatment model. Section 11 of the current contract states as follows:
“The medical practitioner shall provide for eligible persons, on behalf of the relevant Health Board, all proper and necessary treatment of a kind usually undertaken by a general practitioner and not requiring special skill or experience of a degree or kind which general practitioners cannot reasonably be expected to possess. This will include such preventive and developmental services as are currently provided or may be developed in the new style of practice which this agreement facilitates, some of which services may be included on the list of special items of service for which specific payments shall be made.”
The monitoring and appropriate care of patients receiving anti-coagulation therapy with Warfarin comes within the scope of competence of general practice. Warfarin testing is also available free of charge in hospitals.
Warfarin testing is carried out by some general practitioners as a matter of course in their practices and I welcome this. This provides their patients with an option of receiving this service locally in a primary care setting rather than attending an acute hospital for this service.
The Programme for Government provides for the introduction of a new GMS GP contract with an increased emphasis on the management of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. It is envisaged that the new contract, when finalised, will focus on prevention and will include a requirement for GPs to provide care as part of integrated multidisciplinary Primary Care Teams.
Officials in my Department are in consultation with the HSE with a view to drawing up a new contract. The appropriate arrangements in relation to anti-coagulation therapy will be considered as part of the new contract.
