Written Answers Nos. 208-219
208. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health his plans to reform the current system whereby a patient's medical records held by their general practitioner-family doctor are not readily available to hospitals upon admission and with the consent of the patient. [36305/14]
View answerDevelopments in ICT offer solutions to enable a more integrated approach between Primary and Secondary Care. Examples of these are the use of the Health Link system, where the ordering and reporting of diagnostic tests and referrals from General Practice to Secondary Care are facilitated through a structured messaging infrastructure.
The HSE, in partnership with the Irish College of General Practitioners, is in the process of rolling out a secure e-mail solution called Healthmail. This will enable GPs to transmit a patient's clinical information to a Secondary Care setting in a secure manner.
209. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an application for national lottery funding by an organisation (details supplied) in County Cork. [36306/14]
View answerMy Department has received an application for funding from the 2014 National Lottery allocation from the organisation in question. This is one of a large number of applications currently being assessed by my Department. The organisation will be informed of the outcome of the application as soon as a decision has been made.
210. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Health if he has given consideration to providing temporary cover for maternity leave of front line staff in the Health Service Executive's disability sector, particularly in the cases of early intervention services such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy for children as the delay without such intervention can have a very negative result on those who rely on such services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36314/14]
View answerAs I have no direct role in this matter, I have forwarded your question to the HSE for direct reply.
211. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite a hospital appointment to be scheduled in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36315/14]
View answerThe scheduling of appointments for patients is a matter for the hospital to which the patient has been referred. Should a patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he or she would be in the best position to take the matter up with the consultant and hospital involved. In relation to the specific case raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
212. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health if he will reinstate Istin and Crozier on the list of drugs covered under the medical card. [36336/14]
View answerThe Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicinal products under the community drug schemes in accordance with the provisions of the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
213. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Health the total number of persons registered with an intellectual disability in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36357/14]
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.
214. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Health when a decision will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36358/14]
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.
215. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Health when a decision will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36359/14]
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.
216. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if the information and advice that is available now was available in January 1998 or has the Department received any new guidelines-information since January 1998 with regard to the cancer drug Roaccutane; and the advice and guidelines that were in place in January 1998. [36365/14]
View answerRoaccutane (containing the active substance, isotretinoin) is authorised for treating severe forms of acne which have been resistant to other standard therapies in Ireland and across the EU. It should only be prescribed by or under the supervision of doctors with expertise in using the product and with a full understanding of the risks of therapy and the monitoring requirements. It has never been approved for use in the treatment of cancer in Ireland.
The currently available product information (i.e. Summary of Product Characteristics and package leaflet) for Roaccutane has been the subject of a number of changes since 1998. As with all medicines, any change to this information requires approval by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (or another EU Member State) on foot of a formal application to vary the authorisation and the submission of relevant supporting data. In practice, product information is frequently updated as new data become available through various sources of post-marketing experience, including further studies, literature reviews, evaluation of adverse reaction data etc. In this context there have been numerous updates and changes to the product information for Roaccutane from January 1998, until now.
If the Deputy seeks more detailed information on the changes to product information , it would be helpful if the specific concerns he would like addressed were specified.
217. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form the total number of patients referred to the cancer centre at UCHG in 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014; the number of these patients who were in-patients and the average length of time they spent in UCHG; if he will outline in each of those years the ratio of medical staff to patients at the UCHG Cancer Centre and the way this ratio compares for each of those years with other cancer centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36369/14]
View answerThe Deputy's question relates to service delivery matters and accordingly I have asked the HSE to respond directly to him.
219. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health the number of speech and language therapists employed by the Health Service Executive; the overall cost of speech and language therapy services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36387/14]
View answerAs I have no direct role in this matter, I have forwarded your question to the HSE for direct reply.
