Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 July 2013
484. Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Minister for Health if there are key performance indicators for public health nurse visits to pre-school children and to national school children; the responses he will take to those indicators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32929/13]
View answerThe HSE Public Health Nursing service is responsible for child health monitoring, which involves a programme of screening interventions and supports for parents, starting at birth and extending through the pre-school years. In total there are nine timed age-related visits offered to children under the Child Health Surveillance Programme (CHSS). There are three associated KPIs regarding this service. The percentage of newborn babies visited by a PHN within 48 and 72 hours of birth and the percentage of children who have received their first developmental screening visit prior to their reaching ten months of age. The first two indicators are reported quarterly in arrears and the third is reported monthly in arrears. Latest national data indicate that 84% of newborns are visited by a Public Health Nurse within 48 hours of birth which rises to 96% for visits within 72 hours of birth.
Regarding developmental screening, although many individual areas have exceeded the 95% performance level, latest data available from the HSE indicates that the national performance level is 86.9%. The HSE has put a plan in place to address backlogs during the summer months. The situation is monitored carefully through the HSE’s monthly performance monitoring system.
