Written Answers Nos. 576-597
576. Deputy Noel Harrington asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the plans to provide a helipad within the grounds of Cork University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26876/14]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
577. Deputy Noel Harrington asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the plans to provide a helipad within the grounds of Bantry General Hospital, County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26877/14]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
578. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if an account from St. Luke's General Hospital, Kilkenny for €100 in the name of a person (details supplied) will be struck out as the person is a medical card holder and, in any event, cannot afford to pay; and if he will expedite a response. [26878/14]
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.
579. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health to set out the position regarding rodent infestation in respect to a family (details supplied) in Dublin 3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26897/14]
View answerThe Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal services which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act, 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the HSE to have the matter investigated and to reply directly to the Deputy.
580. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health to set out the position regarding medical card applications and appeals (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26901/14]
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.
581. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Longford may expect to receive a decision on a medical card review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26926/14]
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.
582. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health to set out the reason an application for a medical card has not been approved in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if he will expedite the matter. [26927/14]
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.
583. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health to explain the reason an application for a medical card has not been approved in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; if he will expedite the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26928/14]
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.
584. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Health if a discretionary medical card will be immediately returned to a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26936/14]
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.
585. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown in tabular form of the number of persons on the long-term illness scheme for the past five years. [26943/14]
View answerThe HSE is responsible for the administration of the community drug schemes, therefore, this matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
586. Deputy Peter Mathews asked the Minister for Health to explain his plans to carry out research into the practice of adding fluoride to our drinking water; the nature of the proposed research; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26949/14]
View answerThe Department of Health keeps the policy of water fluoridation under constant review. As part of this ongoing work, a review of evidence on the impact of water fluoridation at its current level on the health of the population and on the environment is being conducted by the Health Research Board on behalf of the Department. The Department is also collaborating in a University College Cork-led research project, "Fluoride and Caring for Children's Teeth" (FACCT). The study will consider the impact of changes on the oral health of children, following policy decisions relating to toothpaste use by infants and young children made in 2002 and the reduction in the level of fluoridation in drinking water introduced in 2007. In addition, a study on general and oral health findings in adults linked to the duration of exposure to fluoridated water as part of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging (TILDA) will commence shortly.
587. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form the number of persons who received treatment under the treatment abroad scheme in each of the years 2011 to 2013, inclusive, and to date in 2014; and the cost incurred by the scheme in each of those years. [26952/14]
View answerThe HSE Treatment Abroad Scheme (TAS) issues form E112 (IE) for specific episodes of care which an approved patient receives in a public hospital in the EU, EEA or Switzerland. The health authority of these countries issue invoices, under form E125, to the HSE for care provided to those approved patients. These invoices are received in arrears - often up to 2 and 3 years in arrears. Therefore the figures detailed in the following table are the costs as current available to the HSE TAS Office and are likely to change as invoices for previous years are received and paid and should be read in that context. As prior to its centralisation into a single office in 2012 the HSE TAS was administered at various local offices, the TAS Office cannot provide comprehensive figures for the TAS prior to 2012.
|
Year |
Approved Applications |
Cost |
|
2012 |
791 |
€7,415,570.00 |
|
2013 |
640 |
€7,866,682.10 |
|
2014 to date |
278 |
€5,117,107.61 |
589. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to explain the position regarding a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26960/14]
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.
590. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to outline the position regarding a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26961/14]
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.
591. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to set out the position regarding a paramedic who had to literally beg staff members in an accident and emergency department in Limerick for his trolley because of overcrowding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26963/14]
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 to him directly.
592. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details on how quickly the medical cards that were taken away from persons who needed them will be restored following the Government's decision to withdraw the review of discretionary medical cards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26964/14]
View answerThe Government recognises that the current eligibility system for health services, which has been in place since 1970, is based on primarily financial criteria. Therefore, the Government has decided to develop a policy framework for providing eligibility for health services on the basis of medical conditions, including new legislation as appropriate, and a HSE clinical expert group is to examine the range of conditions that should be considered as part of this process. The group has been asked to make an early report to the Minister for Health in the autumn.
The Government was very concerned about the potential impacts on the health of persons with serious illnesses whose discretionary medical cards and GP visit cards were refused renewal since the centralisation of medical card assessment in 2011. Therefore, in the context of the above eligibility policy development, the Government decided that medical cards and GP visit cards are to be issued to persons with a serious medical condition (or disability) who had the renewal of their discretionary card refused by the HSE, having completed an eligibility review during the period from 1 July 2011 to 31 May 2014.
The HSE is currently identifying these people to activate their eligibility status. The HSE intends to have contacted all of the relevant persons over the next few weeks. If people do not hear from the HSE by mid July, they should contact the HSE on its LoCall contact number: 1890 25 29 19.
593. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to set out the position regarding hydrotherapy in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26968/14]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have again arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.
594. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to explain the position regarding a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26971/14]
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.
595. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to set out the position regarding home help in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26972/14]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
596. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to explain the position regarding a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26973/14]
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.
597. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to set out the position regarding a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26976/14]
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.
