Wednesday, 14 Jan 2015

Written Answers Nos. 645 -663

Hospital Beds Data

Questions (645, 646, 647, 648, 649)

Gerry Adams

Question:

645. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the number of respite beds available in County Louth each year since 2010. [1258/15]

Gerry Adams

Question:

646. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the location of respite beds in County Louth each year since 2010. [1259/15]

Gerry Adams

Question:

647. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the number of long-stay beds in County Louth each year since 2010 and their location. [1260/15]

Gerry Adams

Question:

648. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the number of step-down beds available in County Louth, by location and in each year since 2010. [1261/15]

Gerry Adams

Question:

649. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the number of step-down beds available in the Cottage Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth. [1262/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

I propose to take Questions Nos. 645 to 649, inclusive, together.

As these are service matters they have been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply. 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.

Hospital Services

Questions (650)

Gerry Adams

Question:

650. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the Cottage Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth. [1263/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply. 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.

Hospital Beds Data

Questions (651)

Gerry Adams

Question:

651. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the promised 100-bed unit for elderly patients announced in 2012 for St. Mary’s Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth. [1264/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply. 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.

Primary Care Centres

Questions (652)

Gerry Adams

Question:

652. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the primary care centre for north Drogheda, its proposed role and the services to be provided. [1265/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

The HSE has responsibility for the provision, maintenance and operation of Primary Care Centres. Therefore, this matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy. 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.

Hospitals Building Programme

Questions (653)

Gerry Adams

Question:

653. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the refurbishment work carried out and to be carried out at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth. [1266/15]

Written answers

Minister for Health

Your question regarding the refurbishment work carried out and under way at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.

Any future investment at OLOL Drogheda must be considered within the overall acute hospital sector infrastructure programme, within the overall capital envelope available to the health service and in the context of the establishment of hospital groups.   In 2015, there will be a structured integration of the OLOL Drogheda into the Dublin North East Hospital Group (associated with the RSCI school of medicine) and this will provide further support for OLOL Drogheda in delivering high-quality, safe patient care in a cost-effective manner.

There will, of course, always be more projects than can be funded by the Exchequer. The method and timescale for the delivery of health care infrastructure is a dynamic process which is constantly evolving to take account of changing circumstances, including the feasibility of implementation.  There is limited funding available for new projects over the next multi-annual period 2015-2019 given the level of commitments and the costs to completion already in place. The HSE will always concentrate on applying the limited funding available for capital works in the most effective way possible to meet prioritised needs now and in the future.

If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office who will follow up on the matter.

Hospital Staff

Questions (654)

Brian Stanley

Question:

654. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health the number of specialists in hospitals in the midland counties, that is Laois, Offaly and Kildare, who treat patients with sleep apnoea disorder and the timeframe for same. [1267/15]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As 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.

Mental Health Services Provision

Questions (655)

Robert Troy

Question:

655. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health the services available to persons suffering mental health illness in the Athlone and south Westmeath area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1283/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As this is a service issue this question has been referred to the HSE for direct response. 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.

Hospital Waiting Lists

Questions (656)

Colm Keaveney

Question:

656. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Galway will receive essential spinal fusion surgery in view of the fact the person has been waiting since 2013 and the condition is getting worse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1288/15]

Written answers

Minister for Health

The National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, 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 the particular query raised, as 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 with them.

Hospital Services

Questions (657)

Micheál Martin

Question:

657. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health when a wada test will be provided at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9 in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork with epilepsy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1303/15]

Written answers

Minister for Health

The 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 particular query raised, as 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 with them.

Hospital Waiting Lists

Questions (658)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

658. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the reason for the delay in providing a person (details supplied) in Dublin 20 with a date for a stomach operation in St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8. [1304/15]

Written answers

Minister for Health

The National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, 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 the particular query raised, as 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 with them.

Social Workers Recruitment

Questions (659)

Michael McGrath

Question:

659. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health if the Health Service Executive intends to reopen the social workers panel to new applicants during 2015 for potential vacancies that may arise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1312/15]

Written answers

Minister for Health

I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on the matter. 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.

Health Services

Questions (660)

Pat Deering

Question:

660. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Carlow with dyspraxia will be seen by a speech therapist and a physiotherapist. [1332/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As the particular issue raised by the Deputy relates to an individual case, this is a service matter for the Health Service Executive. Accordingly, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy. 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.

Medicinal Products Availability

Questions (661)

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

661. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health if he will make the drug Soliris (eculizumab) available in respect of a person (details supplied) who is suffering from the ultra rare and life threatening blood disorder paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1343/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

Decisions on which medicines are reimbursed by the taxpayer, are not political or ministerial decisions. These are made on objective, scientific and economic grounds by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and often on the advice of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics.

The HSE has been engaging with the manufacturer, Alexion Pharma, for some time in relation to the drug Eculizumab. At a cost of over €400,000 per patient per annum Eculizumab is one of the most expensive drugs in the world and many countries have struggled to accept the pricing point put forward by Alexion.

The engagement with the pharmaceutical company has now been concluded and the HSE is considering the outcome of that engagement. It is regrettable that to date the company has not been able to provide this drug at a more sustainable price to the HSE to reflect the clinical evidence.

I would like to assure the Deputy that the Department, and the HSE, fully understand the concerns of patients regarding the availability of this drug and every effort is being made to seek a satisfactory outcome to this issue. While I appreciate that some may take the view that the taxpayer should reimburse every licensed medicine for whatever price the drug company demands, I hope the Deputy will appreciate that the better interests of the health service require that we reimburse only the most effective medicines and only at a fair price.

Hospital Charges

Questions (662)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

662. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his views on a proposal (details supplied) regarding fixed fees for acute hospitals here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1344/15]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As 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.

Medicinal Products Expenditure

Questions (663)

Jonathan O'Brien

Question:

663. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Health the number of persons for whom the Health Service Executive has refused to fund Soliris during 2012, 2013 and 2014. [1345/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

The 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 you. 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.