Written Answers Nos. 675 - 684
675. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health further to his proposal to stop issuing medical cards to persons who are suffering from non terminal cancer, the amount he expects to save from such a move; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36146/13]
View answer677. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will reverse his announced cut and confirm that all cancer patients will continue to be in receipt of medical cards. [36148/13]
View answer741. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Health if he will immediately review the decision to deny medical cards to persons suffering from cancer; if he will clearly and publicly guarantee a medical card for persons with a serious illness and cancer; if his attention has been drawn to the distress and worry his comments have caused as well as the proposed financial burden to be expected by persons with serious illness in the future; if he will review the income limits for eligibility for a medical card to increase the income limits to make this support available to persons on low income; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36730/13]
View answer742. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will review and overturn his decision to discontinue medical cards for cancer patients (details supplied). [36758/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 675, 677, 741 and 742 together.
Under the provisions of the Health Act 1970, the assessment for a medical card is determined primarily by reference to the means, including the income and expenditure, of the applicant and his or her partner and dependants. There is no automatic entitlement to a medical card for persons with a specific illness, such as cancer, nor has the criteria applied to medical card applications by cancer patients been amended or reviewed.
However, under the legislation, there is provision for discretion by the HSE to grant a medical card where a person's income exceeds the income guidelines. The HSE takes a person's social and medical issues into account in determining whether or not "undue hardship" exists for a person in providing a health service for themselves or his or her dependants.
The HSE has an effective system in place for the provision of emergency medical cards for patients who are terminally ill, or who are seriously ill and in urgent need of medical care that they cannot afford. They are issued within twenty-four hours of receipt of the required patient details and the letter of confirmation of the condition from a doctor or a medical consultant. With the exception of terminally ill patients, the HSE issues all emergency cards on the basis that the patient is eligible for a medical card on the basis of means or undue hardship, and that the applicant will follow up with a full application within a number of weeks of receiving the emergency card. As a result, emergency medical cards are issued to a named individual, with a limited eligibility period of six months.
For persons with a terminal illness, no means test applies. Once the terminal illness is verified, patients are given an emergency medical card for six months. Given the nature and urgency of the issue, the HSE has appropriate escalation routes to ensure that the person gets the card as quickly as possible.
676. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a medical card in respect of persons (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36147/13]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has issued to Oireachtas members.
678. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health the funding that was provided for the ambulance services in County Kerry for each of the following years: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013. [36152/13]
View answerIn relation to the particular query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service issue, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy in this matter.
679. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will clarify a situation with regard to an entitlement to a medical card under EU regulations (details supplied). [36198/13]
View answerRegulation (EC) 883/04 and Implementing Regulation 987/09 provide for the coordination of social security systems, including healthcare, within the EU/EEA and Switzerland, with the aim of ensuring the free movement of persons. This objective of the Regulation is to ensure that persons exercising their right to move and to stay freely within the EU/EEA and Switzerland do not suffer disadvantage.
In Ireland, a Medical Card may be issued to EU/EEA citizens under EU Regulation 883/04 if the person is in receipt of a qualifying payment from one, or more, of the Member States, provided they are not subject to Irish social insurance legislation. It is the person with the qualifying payment who is assessed for a medical card. Family members of persons with an entitlement under the EU Regulations may also be entitled to a medical card provided they (the family member(s)) are not subject to Irish social security legislation.
680. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if he will report on the current nursing home bed provision, with a breakdown between the private and voluntary sector and the public sector; if he will outline the projected annual increased demand for each of the next ten years; the plans, if any, to meet this demand; if he will provide consideration to the establishment of a forum on long term residential care, under the auspices of his Department, in order to address this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36201/13]
View answerThe Health Information and Quality Authority is the statutory body responsible for the registration of all designated centres for older people and full details of all currently registered nursing homes, including the maximum number of residents who can be accommodated can be found on the HIQA website, www.hiqa.ie. At the end of June 2013 there were 7,280 public residential beds. Of these 5,412 were long stay & 1,868 were short stay beds.
The HSE has responsibility for the delivery of services set out in the National Service Plan and to ensure that services are delivered within budget. The demand for these services will continue to grow with changing demographics, and the associated complex needs of an ageing population. At the last Census, there were over 535,000 people over the age of 65 in Ireland. This was an increase of 14.4% since 2006. It is estimated that by 2041, there will be about 1.4m people over the age of 65 in Ireland, with the greatest increases in the over 80 age group. We will therefore have to ensure that the funds that are available are used to best effect for our older people.
The Nursing Homes Support Scheme was introduced in October 2009 with a commitment to review its operation after three years. This review is now underway and will consider the long-term sustainability of the Scheme as well as looking at the community based services with a view to completion by end 2013/early 2014. In conjunction with this the Department is working closely with the HSE to develop an overall plan regarding future public nursing home provision for the Minister’s consideration. This Plan will take account of the priorities identified in recent HSE analysis and of the broad examination of future services, both residential and community, for older people which will be carried out under the current review of the Scheme. Following on from the review a longer-term plan for public residential facilities is therefore expected to be completed by mid-2014.
On-going consultation with all stakeholders and the public in general is already a standard feature of our approach across policy areas. Both my Ministerial colleagues, myself and officials from the Department regularly meet with stakeholders from across the public, private and voluntary sector to discuss policies, services and developments including those for Older People. In fact officials of the Department have recently met and are always happy to receive suggestions and other input from Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI), which has called for the establishment of a forum of this nature. The establishment of an additional formal consultation forum such as that suggested by NHI is not considered necessary given the very effective level of consultation that already takes place and to which we remain committed for the future.
681. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Health his policy in respect of care in the community through the use of day care centres, low support hostels, medium support hostels and high support hostels for persons with mental health-psychiatric requirements which were to be rolled out over a number of years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36206/13]
View answerA Vision for Change recommended the closure of the old psychiatric hospitals and a move from the traditional institutional based model of care to a patient-centred, flexible and community based mental health service, where the need for hospital admission is greatly reduced, while still providing in-patient care when appropriate.
The Government has prioritised the reform of our mental health services in line with A Vision for Change and is committed in particular to the delivery of more and better quality care in the community. Mental health services are provided directly by the HSE and by voluntary partners in a variety of settings including acute in-patient facilities, day hospitals and day centres, supported community residences and to service users in their own homes.
Budgets 2012 and 2013 provided additional funding totalling €70 million for the continued development of our mental health services. This funding is being used primarily to further strengthen community mental health teams for adults, children, older persons and mental health intellectual disability. 891 posts have been approved to implement these measures.
As at 16 July 2013, 389 of the 414 posts approved in 2012 have either been filled, are under offer or awaiting clearance. 132 of the 477 posts approved for 2013 have been accepted by candidates with clearances being processed and a further 16 posts have been offered to candidates to express an interest.
The HSE’s National Recruitment Service (NRS) creates national panels in anticipation of vacancies. On occasion, however, it is difficult to fill some posts for various reasons including geographical location, international shortage of some grades, most notably clinical Psychologists etc. The NRS is currently working to ensure that the remaining posts will be filled as soon as possible, from existing panels or through competition in the absence of panels, at the earliest opportunity.
I have received assurances from the HSE that the recruitment process for the new posts being funded in 2013 and any outstanding posts from the 414 approved in 2012, is being given priority within the HSE.
682. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Health the amount of funding promised for mental health services for 2013; if the €30 million announced for this purpose in 2012 was fully utilised for that purpose; if the funds announced for this purpose in 2011 were also fully utilised for that purpose; if any funds are available to carry over for these services in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36207/13]
View answer684. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health if he will report on the 891 additional community mental health posts that have been filled to date; and if the additional €70 million that was provided over the two previous budgets for community mental health services has been spent. [36288/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 682 and 684 together.
In 2012, a special allocation of €35 million was provided for mental health to be used primarily to further strengthen Community Mental Health Teams in both adult and children’s mental health services, to advance activities in the area of suicide prevention, to initiate the provision of psychological and counselling services in primary care and to facilitate the transfer of mental health service users from institutional to community based care. 414 posts were approved to implement the €35 million package of special measures. Budgetary pressures within the HSE delayed the full utilisation of this funding, but this sum is now available to mental health services along with an additional €35 million allocated in Budget 2013 for the continued development of our mental health services. As at 16 July 2013, 389 of the 414 posts have either been filled, are under offer or awaiting clearance.
The HSE’s National Recruitment Service (NRS) creates national panels in anticipation of vacancies. On occasion however, it is difficult to fill some posts for various reasons including geographical location, international shortage of some grades, most notably clinical Psychologists etc. The NRS is currently working to ensure that the remaining posts will be filled as soon as possible, from existing panels or through competition in the absence of panels, at the earliest opportunity.
477 posts have been approved this year for the continued development of our mental health services. As at 16th July 2013, 132 of the 477 posts have been accepted by candidates with clearances being processed and a further 16 posts have been offered to candidates to express an interest.
I have received assurances from the HSE that the recruitment process for the new posts being funded in 2013 and any outstanding posts from the 414 approved in 2012, is being given priority within the HSE.
683. Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for Health further to the publication of the Higgins report, if he will provide a full update regarding changes and progress at Waterford Regional Hospital with a particular focus on CAT labs and Cardiology services; if he will include a detailed timeline of expected completion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36271/13]
View answerThe Report on the establishment of Hospital Groups which I launched on 14 May is the most radical and most fundamental modernisation of our health system infrastructure since the State’s foundation. To achieve the most effective high quality outcomes for patients in the most cost efficient manner possible, the reform of the structures and governance for the delivery of hospital services is vital now. As the Deputy will know, Waterford Regional Hospital is in the South/South East Group.
In keeping with the Report's recommendation, within one year of the formation of Hospital Groups, each hospital group will be required to submit a strategic plan which will outline its plans for future services within the group area. Each Hospital Group will be rigorously evaluated in line with predetermined criteria to see whether they are in a position to advance to Hospital Trust status after the necessary legislation is put in place.
In relation to the particular query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service issue, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy in this matter.
