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Wednesday, 13 Mar 2013

Written Answers Nos. 211-218

Hospital Accommodation

Questions (211)

Tom Fleming

Question:

211. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health the number of bed closures in Kerry General Hospital for each of the past six years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13284/13]

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Written answers

The information requested by the Deputy is collated by the Business Intelligence Unit within the Health Service Executive. Therefore, I have asked them to respond directly to the Deputy in this matter.

Nursing Homes Support Scheme

Questions (212)

Michelle Mulherin

Question:

212. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Health the average waiting period for applicants under the Fair Deal scheme to be approved and the number waiting in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13289/13]

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Written answers

On average, applications for the Scheme take between 4 to 6 weeks to process, from receipt of completed application to date of determination. Depending on the level of complexity of the individual case, processing of the application may take longer. For example, in cases where ancillary State support is sought, additional factors may impact on the timeframe, e.g. the HSE must establish title of property before a decision cane be made and establishing title can be a lengthy process in some cases. As the HSE is responsible for the administration of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, this matter has been passed to the Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.

Patient Statistics

Questions (213)

Denis Naughten

Question:

213. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health if he will furnish details of the total numbers of patients who availed of services, inclusive of UCC-MAU, at Roscommon County Hospital in 2012; the corresponding figures for 2010 and 2011 inclusive of accident and emergency-UCC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13303/13]

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Written answers

The information requested by the Deputy is collated by the Business Intelligence Unit within the Health Service Executive. Therefore, I have asked them to contact the Deputy directly in this matter.

Hospital Staff

Questions (214)

Denis Naughten

Question:

214. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the non-nursing professional staff who are on duty and on call respectively at Roscommon County Hospital at weekends; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13304/13]

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Written answers

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.

Question No. 215 answered with Question No. 200.

Health Service Executive Expenditure

Questions (216)

Billy Kelleher

Question:

216. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the reason a company (details supplied) which won the tender for driver training of the ambulance service has not been allowed to commence the contract due to start on 31 December 2012; the reason an out of contract company which is more expensive is still carrying out the training; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13334/13]

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Written answers

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.

Medical Card Eligibility

Questions (217)

Joe Higgins

Question:

217. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Health the progress made on plans for medical cards for the chronically ill. [13338/13]

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Written answers

Under the provisions of the Health Act 1970, eligibility for health services in Ireland is based primarily on residency and means.There are currently two categories of eligibility for all persons ordinarily resident in Ireland i.e. full eligibility (medical card) and limited eligibility (all others).Full eligibility is determined mainly by reference to income limits, and is granted to persons who, in the opinion of the Health Service Executive, are unable to provide general practitioner, medical and surgical services to themselves and their dependents without undue hardship. There is a provision for discretion to grant a card in cases of "undue hardship" where the income guidelines are exceeded.

The Government's Programme for Government committed it to major reforms of the manner in which health services are delivered. As part of the reform programme, Universal Primary Care is to be introduced on a phased basis during its term of office. Primary legislation is being prepared to give effect to this commitment.The wording of this legislation, which will 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. As the legislation is still being drafted, I am not in a position to give a definite date for its publication. Details of an implementation timeframe, illnesses to be covered etc. and application details will be announced in due course.

Hospital Waiting Lists

Questions (218)

Ciaran Lynch

Question:

218. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will get an urgent appointment for surgery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13348/13]

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Written answers

In relation to waiting list management in general, the National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2013, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has recently been adopted by the HSE, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists. In relation to this particular query raised by the Deputy, I have asked the Health Service Executive to investigate the situation and respond directly to the Deputy in this matter.

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