Written Answers Nos. 343-354
343. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details of the routine maintenance regime for ambulances operated by the national ambulance service, including details of time and mileage intervals between routine servicing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47193/14]
View answer344. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Health the number of times each ambulance was serviced or repaired since January 2008, where such servicing or repair of an ambulance was outside of planned routine maintenance; if he will provide details of the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47194/14]
View answer345. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Health regarding the repair and maintenance of ambulances, the records that the Health Service Executive and-or the national ambulance service are required to keep; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47195/14]
View answer346. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Health for the period 2008 to date in 2014, if he will provide details of the periods of time that each ambulance has been out of service due to servicing or repair; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47196/14]
View answer347. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Health the total number of ambulance breakdowns since January 2008; if he will provide a description or reason for each breakdown; if he will provide details of which county each breakdown occurred in; if a patient was being carried in the ambulance at the time of breakdown; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47197/14]
View answer348. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Health since 2008, the number of ambulances that have broken down more than once; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47198/14]
View answer349. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Health since 2008, the number of ambulances that have been taken off the roads as a result of breakdowns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47199/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 343 to 349, inclusive, together.
As these are service matters, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
350. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Health the reason children (details supplied) cannot receive a general anaesthetic in Cork University Hospital to have an MRI; his views that it is acceptable that a family should have to travel from County Cork to a Dublin hospital for what should be available to them in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47200/14]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
351. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Carlow will get a hearing aid. [47206/14]
View answerThe Health Service Executive Community Audiology service administers and monitors hearing tests for adults who are at risk for hearing loss. Appointments for the audiology service are sent in a strict chronology according to clinical priorities and date of receipt of referral. The HSE has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
352. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Health the process and wait time in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow to be added to the pulmonary rehabilitation programme at St. Michael's Hospital, Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47230/14]
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, as this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up with them.
353. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health the progress to date in meeting the recommendations of the Leas Cross inquiry which recommended a number of initiatives (details supplied) including that the provision of this care, that is residential care, should be clarified formally in terms of adequate numbers of adequately trained nursing and health care assistant staff, with adequate governance structures in terms of senior nursing staff [47234/14]
View answerThe Health Act, 2007 introduced a significant change to how residential care settings for older people are inspected and registered. Since July, 2009 the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is the statutory independent body responsible for the registration and inspection of all residential care services for older people. This responsibility is underpinned by a comprehensive regulatory framework comprising of the Health Act 2007, the Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2009, as amended, the Health Act 2007 (Registration of Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2009 and the National Quality Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People in Ireland.
All nursing homes are subject to the standards and regulations in relation to quality and safety in order to ensure the well-being of their residents. In the context of continuity of care the regulations require that an individual care plan must be developed and agreed with each resident and this plan must be kept under review as required by their changing needs or circumstances.
The staffing requirement of each nursing home is dependent on its configuration, occupancy and the dependency levels of its residents. Staff must be appropriately supervised and have access to appropriate training. It is a matter for HIQA's Chief Inspector of Social Services to determine, for each nursing home, whether the staffing level and mix is appropriate.
354. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the documentation outstanding in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare for their pending medical card review; if their current medical card will remain active while compiling remaining documentation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47253/14]
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. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office who will follow up the matter with them.
