Written Answers Nos. 700-718
700. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health his plans to initiate an awareness campaign for organ donation due to the alarming reduction in organ donors; his legislative plans whereby all citizens would have the choice to opt out of organ donation where consent is assumed if no preference for opting out has been expressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1723/15]
View answer707. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the organ donation process with reference to the proposals for a new system based on presumed consent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1751/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 700 and 707 together.
The HSE's Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland (ODTI) has convened a working group to progress a strategy for public awareness of the importance of organ donation and the huge benefits of organ transplantation for individuals and their families. The group includes representatives of the HSE, the Irish Kidney Association, Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, the Intensive Care Society of Ireland and my Department. Much of the emphasis in relation to awareness is on encouraging people to discuss organ donation with their loved ones so that informed decisions, to the benefit of all, can be made if the unfortunate circumstances of potential donation ever arise.
In March I will launch Organ Donor Awareness Week which is organised by the Irish Kidney Association and part-funded by my Department. Many events will take place that week across the country to encourage organ donation.
My Department is currently developing the Heads of a Human Tissue Bill that will include the establishment of a legal framework in relation to the donation of organs for transplantation. A register of those who do not wish to become organ donors after death is envisaged in the context of the introduction of an opt-out system of consent. However, no organs will be taken without the agreement of the next-of-kin.
There will always be fluctuations in the number of organs donated from deceased donors on an annual basis but I am working to ensure that the necessary steps are being taken to encourage donation where the opportunity arises.
701. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health the number of children who have been assessed and approved for speech and language therapy in each county; the average waiting time for treatment in each county due to the importance of early intervention; his plans to appoint additional therapists to ensure that all children are treated in a timely fashion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1726/15]
View answerThe Government is committed to the development of both Primary Care and Disability Services, including improved access to Speech and Language Therapy services. Additional funding of €20m was allocated in 2013 to strengthen Primary Care services and to support the recruitment of prioritised front-line posts. As part of this initiative, the HSE commenced recruitment last year of over 260 additional posts for Primary Care Teams, which included 52 Speech and Language Therapists. All of these Speech and Language Therapy posts have been filled. This will help to significantly address waiting times for such services.
In relation to services for children with disabilities, the re-configuration of children’s disability services into geographically-based teams as part of the HSE’s National Programme on Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (0-18 years) will ensure a more equitable delivery of services. An additional €4 million was specifically allocated in 2014 to drive implementation of the Programme. This equates to approximately 80 therapy posts, of which 31 are Speech and Language Therapy posts. Further investment of €4 million will also be made to support the development of therapy services in 2015 (equating to €6m in a full year). The HSE is currently considering the breakdown of the posts involved. However, it is expected that this will include a number of Speech and Language Therapy posts.
Information in relation to the other aspects of the Deputy's question is not routinely available in my Department; therefore, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to reply directly 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.
702. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Health his plans to reintroduce the winter bed initiative scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1727/15]
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.
703. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Health the progress with respect to the waiting time for fair deal assessment; his plans to provide an interim subsidy for nursing home beds to alleviate the current pressure in acute hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1728/15]
View answerAs of 5 January 2015 (latest figures available) there were 1,188 people on the national placement list awaiting funding under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS). The budget for the NHSS in 2015 is €948.8m which includes an additional €10m to alleviate the problem of delayed discharges in acute hospital settings. This increase will allow for the provision of an additional 300 long stay care places under the NHSS and has reduced the wait time for funding under the Scheme from circa 15 weeks to 11 weeks now.
The HSE is doing everything possible to relieve the current pressures on acute hospitals, including relocating patients from acute settings to transitional care where this is possible. Additional funding of €8m has been provided this year through which an additional 50 transitional care/rehab beds have been allocated to acute hospitals and an additional 65 beds will come on stream on a phased basis from March 2015 through the commissioning of the former Mount Carmel Hospital.
The review of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme which is currently in progress will include consideration of the balance between community and residential services as well as the future financing and sustainability of the Scheme. Work on this review is well advanced and will be published in the coming months.
704. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health the total impact on expenditure in his Department in 2014 of the transfer of the child and family services function to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1741/15]
View answerThe transfer of the child and family services function to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs did not impact on the expenditure of my Department. In 2014 Vote 38 (Health) provided for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Health and certain other services administered by that Office, including grants to research, consultative and advisory bodies.
The Deputy may wish to note that the approved level of budget transferred to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs from Vote 39 (Health Service Executive) for the Child and Family Agency in 2014 amounted to €544m (€537m Current and €7m Capital).
705. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if an application for the fair deal scheme will be examined in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1744/15]
View answerAs 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.
706. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding medical issues in respect of a person in County Kildare; if the request may be addressed; if it cannot be addressed in the present hospital, if the medication is available in any other Health Service Executive hospital; if it cannot be addressed in the present hospital if the person may be referred to that hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1749/15]
View answerIn relation to the particular patient query raised by you, 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.
708. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Health regarding the difficulty in predicting the level of demand for emergency departments, owing to the nature of accidents and emergencies, if consideration has been given to creating special teams of medical staff who would work on a flexible and temporary basis in the accident and emergency department of each hospital within hospital groups as and when demand arises as such flexibility could alleviate current problems facing accident and emergency departments. [1759/15]
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.
709. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Health if the Health Service Executive has identified the reasons some 1,200 nursing home beds are unoccupied, as confirmed by a survey conducted by Nursing Homes Ireland, which also confirmed the existence of 178 vacancies at 23 nursing homes in County Galway; and if so if the HSE has compiled the actions that need to be taken urgently so as to reduce pressure on acute hospital facilities [1760/15]
View answerThe Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS) is a system of financial support for those in need of long-term nursing home care.
Under the Scheme, residents themselves are free to choose their own nursing home provided that it participates in the Scheme. Demand is stronger in some areas of the country more than in others, and some facilities may also be more popular than others for various reasons. In addition, to manage the available funds through the year, the HSE operates a national placement list in order of when applications are approved, and funding is released in strict chronological order as it becomes available. Demand has exceeded what could be funded in recent months, and waiting times have accordingly increased for release of funding.
The budget for the NHSS in 2015 is €948.8m. This includes an increase of €10m allocated to the initiative related to delayed discharges. This increase will allow for the provision of an additional 300 long stay care places under the NHSS. In 2015 the HSE's National Service Plan's projected target of people in receipt of financial support for long term residential care is 22,361.
In light of the recent pressures in Emergency Departments the HSE is accessing all suitable non-acute accommodation to the maximum extent possible to allow those who have been clinically discharged to leave acute hospitals.
710. Deputy Gabrielle McFadden asked the Minister for Health the number of locum consultants currently attached to Portiuncula Hospital, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1764/15]
View answer711. Deputy Gabrielle McFadden asked the Minister for Health the type of locum consultants who are currently attached to Portiuncula Hospital, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1765/15]
View answer712. Deputy Gabrielle McFadden asked the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form the amount it currently costs the Health Service Executive on an annual basis to employ locum consultants at Portiuncula Hospital, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1766/15]
View answer713. Deputy Gabrielle McFadden asked the Minister for Health the amount it would cost on an annual basis to employ full-time consultants filling the same roles at Portiuncula Hospital, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1767/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 710 to 713, inclusive, together.
It is important that newly qualified doctors can be retained within the public health system and measures are in train to support consultant and NCHD retention. One of the key recommendations from the Working Group chaired by Prof MacCraith, DCU, was that the relevant parties commence a timetabled IR engagement of short duration to address the barrier caused by the variation in rates of remuneration that have emerged since 2012 between new entrant consultants and their established peers, following the 30% reduction in new entrant consultant pay. My Department in conjunction with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the HSE have been in discussions with the IMO on this recommendation and revised pay rates for new entrant consultants have been proposed. The proposals agreed between Management and the IMO were issued by the LRC on 7 January and are now the subject of a ballot of relevant IMO members. Recruitment of additional consultants will be a priority as soon as possible after the conclusion of the ballot.
I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on the specific data requested. 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.
714. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form the number of EU directives which remain to be implemented within his Department; the name of these directives; the timeframe for the implementation of these directives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1795/15]
View answerMy Department is pro-active in monitoring transposition of EU Directives. Transposition is monitored through a central tracking system and monitoring of transpositions carried out by the Department of An Taoiseach. Information for the period up to the end of 2015 is being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.
715. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health his views on the refusal of a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) [1801/15]
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.
716. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will receive a hearing aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1802/15]
View answerThe HSE 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 you 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.
717. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form the number, name and date of Bills initiated in his Department that have been subject to the pre-legislative scrutiny procedure in the Oireachtas. [1816/15]
View answer718. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form the number, name and date of Bills initiated in his Department since September 2013. [1831/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 717 and 718 together.
Ten Bills initiated in my Department have been published since September 2013. Information sought by the Deputy on those Bills is set out in the table below.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children held a series of public hearings on the general scheme of the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill, concluding in February 2014. Previously, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children held public hearings on the heads of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill in May 2013. The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 (No. 66 of 2013) was published on 18 June 2013.
|
Title of Bill |
Number of Bill |
Date of publication |
|
Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) (No. 2) Bill 2013 |
106 of 2013 |
7 November 2013 |
|
Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2013 |
112 of 2013 |
14 November 2013 |
|
Health Identifiers Bill 2013 |
130 of 2013 |
13 December 2013 |
|
Health Service Executive (Financial Matters) Bill 2013 |
136 of 2013 |
20 December 2013 |
|
Public Health (Sunbeds) Bill 2013 |
140 of 2013 |
23 December 2013 |
|
Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014 |
34 of 2014 |
23 April 2014 |
|
Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014 |
54 of 2014 |
13 June 2014 |
|
Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014 |
77 of 2014 |
22 July 2014 |
|
Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2014 |
80 of 2014 |
1 August 2014 |
|
Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2014 |
101 of 2014 |
6 November 2014 |
