Written Answers Nos. 630-52
630. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if it is currently the case that citizens who have private health insurance can choose to be treated as public patients within our hospital system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16406/14]
View answerThe Health Act 1970 (as amended) provides that all persons ordinarily resident in the country are entitled, subject to certain charges, to public in-patient hospital services and to public out-patient hospital services. For persons availing of public in-patient services, the current public hospital statutory in-patient charge is €75 per night, subject to a maximum of €750 in any twelve consecutive months.
631. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Health if the salary agreed in respect of a person (details supplied) exceeds the national pay guidelines for the public service; if a special allowance was approved for this person to relocate; the amount of this allowance; if the permission of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was granted for this remuneration package; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16414/14]
View answerIn late 2011 the HSE identified an urgent need to put in place appropriate management arrangements for the Galway and Roscommon hospitals, in view of the need to address critical service difficulties that had been identified in the hospitals concerned. Despite the best efforts of the HSE it had not been possible to attract senior managers with the requisite expertise to run the hospitals. For that reason individual senior managers were identified from within the system to take on new Group CEO roles for a period.
Mr Bill Maher was identified as the most appropriate person to take on the role of Chief Executive of the Galway/Roscommon hospital group, on a secondment basis for three years from his position as Chief Operations Officer at St. Vincent’s Hospital. Following a request by the Department of Health, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) approved this secondment on a personal-to-holder basis. The remuneration package reflected the level at which Mr Maher was being remunerated by the St Vincent’s Hospital Group in respect of his duties in the public hospital and additional work undertaken separately for St Vincent’s Private Hospital.
These secondment arrangements were approved as an exceptional matter and did not represent a change in overall public service pay policy. One of the conditions of the DPER sanction was that this arrangement should be subject to annual review. I can confirm that the National Director of Acute Hospitals in the HSE is in the process of reviewing the secondment arrangement of Mr. Maher to the Galway Hospital Group.
632. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence regarding the case of a person (details supplied) with motor neurone disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16426/14]
View answer644. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) in County Wexford will be provided with a home ventilation system in order for them to live at home with motor neurone disease. [16501/14]
View answer652. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Health if he will give urgent attention to the issues raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding the case of a person with motor neurone disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16544/14]
View answer655. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Health if he will intervene to ensure invasive ventilation is made available to a motor neurone sufferer (details supplied) in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16559/14]
View answer656. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in County Wexford who is suffering from aggressive motor neurone disease is being denied the home ventilation they desperately need to keep them alive due to the cost of this option; the cost of such an option; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16560/14]
View answer664. Deputy Peter Mathews asked the Minister for Health his plans to provide funds in respect of home ventilation for motor neurone sufferers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16647/14]
View answer668. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Health the cost of providing home ventilation for a person with motor neurone disease per month; the number of persons currently in receipt of this treatment; the number of applications made for this treatment during each of the past four years; the number of applications granted; the number turned down during each of these years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16664/14]
View answer681. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health if provision will be made for a home invasive ventilation for a person who has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (details supplied). [16711/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 632, 644, 652, 655, 656, 664, 668 and 681 together.
The issue of home ventilation whether invasive or non-invasive cannot be considered in isolation and whether the patient has access to such treatment is not purely a financial consideration. A proper discharge care plan which is discussed between the hospital consultant team and primary care needs to be agreed and activated. Home ventilation needs appropriate equipment, trained staff and both patient and family education as well as arrangement for upkeep and maintenance of such ventilation equipment. Nurses supervising such patients at home need to be appropriately qualified and competent to supervise the patient clinically.
The HSE is responsible for the administration of the primary care schemes, therefore, the request for specific statistics concerning the provision of home ventilation services has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy. In relation to the individual case cited, I have asked the HSE to investigate the circumstances surrounding this case and respond directly to the Deputies as a matter of urgency.
633. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16427/14]
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.
634. Deputy Michael P. Kitt asked the Minister for Health if a report has been completed and published on the closure of a nursing home (details supplied) in County Galway; if he has any other investigations to carry out; if this report will be referred to the Joint Committee on Health and Children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16435/14]
View answerThe registration of St. Anne's Nursing Home, Woodford, County Galway was cancelled by the Chief Inspector of Social Services (HIQA) on Friday, 10 February 2012 under section 51 of the Health Act, 2007, as amended. The then registered provider consented to this cancellation. The Health Service Executive took charge of the centre in accordance with section 64 of the Act and made alternative arrangements for the residents. The centre closed on 13 February 2012. HIQA has advised my Department that the final inspection report on this centre is published on www.hiqa.ie.
635. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Health if the use of a certain drug (details supplied) has been reviewed in view of it being no longer available in the United States of America; if he will put in place tighter controls on the use of benzodiazepine medicines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16438/14]
View answerCentrax contains the active substance prazepam which is a long acting benzodiazepine. Prazepam shares the characteristics of benzodiazepines in general, including the need to use them for the shortest length of time possible and to gradually reduce the dose when discontinuing treatment to avoid withdrawal symptoms. The product information for Centrax approved by the Irish Medicines Board includes these warnings and recommends a maximum treatment time of 4-6 weeks including the time for the tapering-off process. It also states that extensions to this time period should be based on a re-evaluation of the patient's status by specialist experts.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website, Centrax has been discontinued in the US but my Department is not aware of any safety concerns regarding long-term use specific to this medicine other than the general concerns relating to benzodiazepines generally.
Benzodiazepines are known to be associated with dependence and withdrawal symptoms and consequently are primarily recommended for short-term treatment only. My Department is reviewing the Misuse of Drugs Regulations with a view to, amongst other issues, introducing tighter controls on benzodiazepine medicines. My Department has consulted with key stakeholders in relation to the proposed amendments. It is anticipated that new legislation will be introduced later this year.
636. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the timescale which he is working to for the abolition of the Health Service Executive; the agencies, existing and proposed, which will take over each of the functions of the HSE; the legislation that will be required for the establishment of those agencies; and the timescale in each case. [16447/14]
View answerFuture Health - A Strategic Framework for Reform of the Health Services 2012 - 2015, sets out three phases for the Health Reform Programme with the ultimate objective of introducing Universal Health Insurance, as outlined in the White Paper published last week.
Phase II of the Health Reform Programme provides for the dissolution and replacement of the Health Service Executive with the introduction of a formal purchaser/provider split, the establishment of a Healthcare Commissioning Agency and a range of provider agencies. These include Hospital Trusts and a community care structure to deliver Primary and Social Care. My Department is currently working on legislation to put these new structures in place. I intend, in the first instance, to publish a draft Scheme and Heads of Bill and bring them to the Oireachtas Committee on Health for pre-legislative scrutiny. This will be done as quickly as possible.
637. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if he will review the weekly payment in respect of the fair deal scheme in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16448/14]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
638. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will support a family (details supplied) regarding a broken wheelchair; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16455/14]
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.
639. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will support the 15,776 children waiting for speech and language assessment. [16456/14]
View answerThe Government is committed to the provision and development of therapy services for children, including those with special needs, within available resources. Health related therapy supports and interventions for children can be accessed through both the Health Service Executive’s primary care services and its disability services.
The HSE's National Service Plan 2013 provided for additional funding of €20m to strengthen primary care services. This comprises over €18.5m for the recruitment of over 260 primary care team posts and over €1.4m to support community intervention team development. The posts include 52 whole-time equivalent Speech and Language Therapists. The recruitment process is ongoing in relation to these posts, with the majority of the posts filled or offered, subject to start dates being agreed.
In terms of disability services, therapy services for children are currently being reconfigured into geographically-based multidisciplinary teams, as part of the HSE’s Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (0-18years) Programme. The objective of this Programme is to achieve a national, unified approach to delivering disability health services so that there is a clear pathway to services for all children, regardless of where they live, what school they go to or the nature of their disability. The National Service Plan 2014 provides for targeted investment of €4m for the roll out of this Programme which equates to 80 additional therapy posts.
The Executive has introduced a number of initiatives to ensure that therapy services are delivered in as equitable a manner as possible and on the basis of prioritised need within available resources. These include therapists increasing clinic based work instead of domiciliary work and providing family centred interventions in a group, as opposed to a one-to-one setting, whenever possible. The additional investment that is being made in both primary care and disability services and the re-configuration of children’s disability services into geographically-based multidisciplinary teams will have a positive impact on the provision of clinical services for all children requiring access to health related supports, including speech and language therapy.
Finally, the figure cited by the Deputy, which is taken from the HSE's speech and language therapy minimum data set includes both children and adults waiting for initial speech and language therapy assessment up to the end of December 2013. The comparable figure for January 2014 indicates that the number of children and adults waiting for initial speech and language therapy assessment had fallen to 12,877. (It should be noted that data collected by the HSE in this regard does not provide a breakdown on the basis of age).
640. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if senior citizens have to declare savings in credit unions or banks when renewing medical card applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16458/14]
View answerPersons completing the Medical Card Review Application Form - Over 70 Years of Age - MC1a(R) - must provide details of investments in stocks, shares or savings with banks or building societies or other financial institutions.
641. Deputy Brian Walsh asked the Minister for Health when a decision was made to relocate an addiction treatment clinic (details supplied) in County Galway; the reason for this decision; the type of services provided at the clinic; and the number of persons who availed of services at the clinic during the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014. [16476/14]
View answerThe HSE provides opioid substitution (mainly methadone) in a number of treatment settings to meet the needs of individual drug users. These settings include: primary care through GPs and community pharmacies; satellite clinics that facilitate opioid substitution provision through community pharmacies; treatment centres where opioid substitution treatment is dispensed on site and; residential rehabilitation facilities. As the issue raised by the Deputy is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
642. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 213 of 26 March 2014, if he will reply to the question which had nothing to do with whether the additional remuneration being paid to five senior managers came from fundraising by the Friends of the Rotunda, but rather sought to clarify what organisations paid that extra remuneration in order to ascertain that there was no untoward interference with medical decisions or ethos. [16478/14]
View answerAs the issues raised in relation to the Rotunda Hospital are operational matters the Deputy's question has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
643. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Health when person (details supplied) in County Dublin will be called for an appointment for an urgent double hip operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16492/14]
View answerThe 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 been adopted by the Health Service Executive, 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 HSE to respond directly to the Deputy in this matter.
645. Deputy Michael P. Kitt asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on his plans to introduce universal health insurance; if any report or research is available on same; the country he would like to model his scheme on; if he will give an approximate date for implementation of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16522/14]
View answerThe Government has embarked on a major reform programme for the health system, the aim of which is to deliver a single-tier health service, supported by universal health insurance (UHI), where there is fair access to services based on need, not on ability to pay. Under UHI, everyone will have a choice of health insurer and access to a standard package of health services. In addition, a system of financial protection will ensure affordability by paying or subsidising UHI premiums for those who qualify.
The White Paper on Universal Health Insurance was published on 2nd April and is available on my Department's website at www.health.gov.ie. It provides substantial detail on the UHI model for Ireland, the process for determining the future health basket, including the standard package of services covered under UHI, funding mechanisms and the key stages of the journey to UHI. A wide-ranging public consultation on the overall policy set out in the White Paper also commenced on 2nd April. The process remains open for submissions from the public and other stakeholders until 28th May. A separate consultation on the contents of the future health basket will also be undertaken.
The White Paper makes reference to a number of background technical documents, notably the Policy Paper on Raising Resources for Universal Health Insurance and The Policy Paper on Designing the Future Health Basket, that were produced by my Department in order to inform the development of the policy set out in the White Paper. These key documents will be published on the Department's website soon. I would also like to draw attention to the preliminary paper on UHI, The Path to Universal Health Insurance, published in February, 2013 on my Department's website which outlines an update of work on UHI to Feb 2012 as well as providing further detail on the path ahead.
As noted in the White Paper, my Department reviewed multi-payer models across a number of countries, having regard to the policy set out in the Programme for Government, including the Netherlands and Germany. Part of this work included organising a seminar in Dublin in 2011 on universal health insurance which was attended by experts from the World Health Organisation, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and the Dutch Health Ministry. My officials also undertook study visits to the Netherlands in June 2011 to examine the Dutch health insurance model and to Germany in 2012 to advance our thinking on the introduction of a prospective case-based Money Follows the Patient system for funding hospitals, which is one of the key building blocks for the introduction of UHI. In November 2013, my Department organised a one day policy dialogue with international experts in the field of national health basket design, facilitated by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, in order to inform the development of The Policy Paper on Designing the Future Health Basket.
I should, however, make it clear that while important to learn from other countries' experiences of multi-payer health insurance systems, it was never our intention to merely adopt a system from another country. In designing a UHI model for Ireland, our aim has been to ensure that it meets the needs of those living in Ireland and that it achieves the best outcomes for patients. This requires that we carefully plan and sequence the reform programme and that we give detailed consideration to the most appropriate structures for delivery of different services. Ultimately, this Government aim is to introduce an Irish model of universal health insurance that best fits the Irish system. My intention is to have all the necessary groundwork in place in early 2016 to enable us to phase in implementation of UHI between 2016 and 2019.
646. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if he is satisfied with the current level of podiatry services being offered at Grattan Street Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16530/14]
View answer647. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the ratio of podiatrists to patients at Grattan Street Cork; his views on whether this is an acceptable situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16531/14]
View answer648. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the number of cancellations of appointments on a monthly basis for the past 18 months to attend the podiatrist at Grattan Street Cork; the reason for the cancellations; if he will ask the Health Service Executive to review the services at Grattan Street Cork to ensure that the necessary resources are available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16532/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 646 to 648, inclusive, together.
While there is no statutory obligation to provide a chiropody/podiatry service, such services are provided by the HSE to medical card patients with the greatest needs. The HSE has been asked to examine the specific queries raised by the Deputy and reply to him as soon as possible.
649. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if he will guarantee that diabetes patients are afforded podiatry appointments in a timely and frequent manner as necessitated because of their illness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16533/14]
View answerThe National Integrated Care Diabetes Programme aims to improve patient access and manage patient care in an integrated manner across service settings, resulting in better outcomes, enhanced clinical decision making and the most effective use of resources. As part of the phased roll out of the Programme, funding has been provided to appoint 16 podiatrists. This will ensure improved access to podiatry services. I have asked the Health Service Executive to investigate the particular queries raised by the Deputy and to respond directly to him.
650. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Health if the fair deal scheme is under review; if so, when he will have a report on same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16540/14]
View answerWhen the Nursing Homes Support Scheme was introduced, a commitment was made that it would be reviewed after three years. The Terms of Reference for the review are: Taking account of Government policy, demographic trends and the fiscal situation. 1. To examine the on-going sustainability of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme. 2. To examine the overall cost of long-term residential care in public and private nursing homes and the effectiveness of the current methods of negotiating/setting prices. 3. Having regard to 1. and 2. above, to consider the balance of funding between long-term residential care and community based services. 4. To consider the extension of the scheme to community based services and to other sectors (Disability and Mental Health), and. 5. To make recommendations for the future operation and management of the scheme. Work on the review is on-going. It is expected that the review will be completed in the coming months and the report will then be made publicly available.
651. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Health if he will reassure residents in County Meath that the officer response vehicles that are in use in the county are being used solely for the purpose of getting to persons who need paramedic assistance and not for personal use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16542/14]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
