Written Answers Nos. 360-373
360. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the reason public hospitals have long waiting lists for urgent magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, scans, yet patients may avail of next day appointments on the same machine by paying privately; if he will review this policy, particularly where the equipment and staff are paid from public funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6789/15]
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.
361. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Health if he will indicate the stage at which the development of the new, out-of-office general practitioner service for County Sligo and north County Leitrim is at; the expected completion date for this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6793/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive (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.
362. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Health if a person in receipt of half-rate mobility allowance can have the rate increased (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6805/15]
View answerConscious of the reports of the Ombudsman regarding the legal status of the Mobility Allowance Scheme and Motorised Transport Grant, in the context of the Equal Status Acts, the Government decided to close both schemes in February 2013. However monthly payments have continued to be made by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to 4,700 people who were in receipt of the Mobility Allowance at the time that the scheme closed, in the interests of preventing hardship. The Department has instructed the HSE that the cohort of people currently in receipt of the monthly payment should continue to be paid by the HSE at their existing rate until further instruction issues from the Department of Health, on foot of any further decisions the Government may make.
The possession of a Primary Medical Certificate is a requirement for eligibility for the Revenue Commissioners' Drivers and Passengers with Disabilities scheme. Queries relating to the criteria for this scheme are matters for the Department of Finance.
363. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown, in tabular form, of referrals made under the treatment abroad scheme, specifically with regard to persons, where undue delay is being experienced in accessing necessary treatments, for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013; if he will also provide information on costings in respect of treatments provided for under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6820/15]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. 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.
364. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the way the provision for persons to seek a referral to the treatment abroad scheme is applied, where persons are experiencing undue delay in accessing necessary treatments; if he will indicate how long the undue delay, and the criteria applied by the referring consultant, with regard to potential deterioration in the condition of persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6821/15]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. 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.
365. Deputy Seán Conlan asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6826/15]
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.
366. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will ensure that a day care centre (details supplied) in County Kerry is retained for its current use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6831/15]
View answerAs this is a service issue this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply. If you have not received a response within 15 working days, please contact my private office and they will follow up the matter with them.
367. Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for Health if a decision has been reached regarding the use of the new vaccination against meningitis B, Bexsero, here; when a decision will be made as to whether this drug will be made available in this jurisdiction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6839/15]
View answerThe immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). The NIAC is a committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland comprising of experts in a number of specialties including infectious diseases, paediatrics and public health. The committee's recommendations are informed by public health advice, international best practice, and a cost effective analysis conducted by the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics.
NIAC has issued guidance in relation to the use of the Meningitis B vaccine in the control of clusters or outbreaks of Meningococcal B disease.
My Department has recently received a letter from the Chairman of NIAC regarding the introduction of the Meningitis B vaccine into the Primary Childhood Immunisation Schedule. This matter will be considered by my Department.
368. Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for Health if he will provide for each of the years, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, the number of recorded cases of meningitis B in County Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6840/15]
View answerThe number of cases of Meningitis B in County Waterford for the past five years is not held by my Department. I have asked the Health Service Executive to collate this information and send 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.
369. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health the circumstances or guidelines in which a general practitioner can request an emergency medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6846/15]
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.
370. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if he is satisfied that the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland provides value for money in respect of its existing budget; the rationale for the proposed increase in registration fees, and his views that this is necessary [6847/15]
View answerThe NMBI has a statutory responsibility to ensure that it discharges its legal obligations within the financial resources available while also maximising efficiencies and income generation, in keeping with best practice in financial governance.
It should be noted that the Board's accounts are examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General's Office. In this regard, the accounts for 2012 and 2013 were recently published and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas and are available on the website of NMBI.
The President of the NMBI has stated that NMBI is facing considerable costs arising from changes to the way the laws regulating the professions operate, and also from handling fitness to practice complaints. In addition to supporting the new public fitness to practise structures, he further stated the fee increase will foster excellence in the professions through a more effective Continuing Professional Development (CPD) framework, an enhanced scope of practice and the new Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for registered nurses and midwives recently published.
I wish to advise the Deputy that I met with the President, Vice-President and Chief Executive of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland on the 29 January 2015 to discuss the current dispute over the registration fee. I again requested that the Board of NMBI re-engage in discussions with the staff associations, as a matter of urgency. I am aware that since that meeting the Board has engaged in discussions with the nursing unions with a view to finding a solution, possibly facilitated by a third party, on the means by which the board and staff associations might come to an agreement on the fee structure for the future.
I again encourage the NMBI to find an outcome which secures the Board's minimum financial operating requirements but avoids a potential scenario where nurses and midwives maybe removed from the Register for non-payment of fees with potential consequences for service availability. Taking nurses off the register in a few months' time would create huge problems for hospitals and community facilities which need nurses to function, and for nurses themselves who would not be able to work or get paid if they were not registered.
I will continue to monitor the situation closely in the interests of patient safety and continuity of care.
371. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health his plans to improve the dental services in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6851/15]
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.
372. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of male and female patients who have died in St. Dympna's Hospital in County Carlow for each year since 1974; and if each deceased person had family members who were informed of the deaths. [6859/15]
View answerInformation on the number of patients who died in St Dympna's Hospital, County Carlow, during the period in question, is set out as follows. St Dympna's Hospital closed as an approved centre and was removed from the Register of Approved Centres in October 2011, therefore there is no data available after that date.
Number of deaths recorded on the National Psychiatric In-patient Reporting System (NPIRS) for St Dympna's Hospital
|
Year |
Males |
Females |
Total |
|
1974 |
17 |
11 |
28 |
|
1975 |
19 |
18 |
37 |
|
1976 |
18 |
17 |
35 |
|
1977 |
11 |
26 |
37 |
|
1978 |
11 |
15 |
26 |
|
1979 |
9 |
14 |
23 |
|
1980 |
14 |
12 |
26 |
|
1981 |
15 |
16 |
31 |
|
1982 |
8 |
20 |
28 |
|
1983 |
24 |
16 |
40 |
|
1984 |
15 |
13 |
28 |
|
1985 |
14 |
22 |
36 |
|
1986 |
12 |
8 |
20 |
|
1987 |
7 |
7 |
14 |
|
1988* |
- |
- |
14 |
|
1989 |
24 |
5 |
29 |
|
1990 |
8 |
6 |
14 |
|
1991 |
14 |
6 |
20 |
|
1992 |
10 |
7 |
17 |
|
1993 |
7 |
6 |
13 |
|
1994 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
|
1995 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
|
1996 |
7 |
8 |
15 |
|
1997 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
|
1998 |
5 |
8 |
13 |
|
1999 |
4 |
3 |
7 |
|
2000 |
7 |
2 |
9 |
|
2001 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
2002 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2003 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
2004 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2005 |
5 |
2 |
7 |
|
2006 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
|
2007 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
|
2008 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
2009 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
|
2010 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2011 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
*Breakdown by gender not available for 1988
It was the practice of the hospital to inform relatives when a family member, who was an in-patient in the hospital, began to fail, was dying or had died.
373. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health his views on the rate of undiagnosed breech presentations in labour, identified in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6867/15]
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.
