Written Answers Nos. 404-420
404. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding orthodontic treatment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7705/15]
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.
405. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding nursing home payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7722/15]
View answerUnder Section 12(1)(b) of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009 any refunds which are due to an applicant under the Scheme can only be paid to the proprietor of the approved nursing home. The HSE is precluded from making payments directly to residents of nursing homes under Section 12 (1).
The forthcoming Review of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme which will be completed shortly, is considering the operation and management of the Scheme, including the issuing of backdated refunds.
406. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite a hospital appointment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7723/15]
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, 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.
407. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite a transfer request in respect of a person (details supplied). [7735/15]
View answerAs 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 they will follow up the matter with them.
409. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an application for a medical card in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7791/15]
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.
410. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Health the progress made with regard to the reconfiguration of gynaecology services in County Cork; the locations where public gynaecology services are now provided; the number of consultants available to treat public patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7806/15]
View answer411. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Health the number of patients awaiting public gynaecology services in County Cork; if he will provide a breakdown of the amount of time patients have been waiting for public gynaecology appointments as follows: three to six months, six to nine months, nine to 12 months and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7807/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 410 and 411 together.
In relation to the particular queries raised by you, 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 with them.
412. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the implementation of the national carers' strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7809/15]
View answerThe National Carers’ Strategy was published in July 2012 and sets the strategic direction for future policies, services and supports provided by Government Departments and agencies for carers.
It sets out a vision to work towards and an ambitious set of National Goals and Objectives to guide policy development and service delivery to ensure that carers feel valued and supported to manage their caring responsibilities with confidence and are empowered to have a life of their own outside of caring.
The Strategy also contains a Roadmap for Implementation with a suite of actions and associated timelines, and identifies the Government Department responsible for their implementation. It is important to note that the actions in the Roadmap for Implementation are those that can be achieved on a cost neutral basis.
The National Carers' Strategy committed to the production of an Annual Report on progress which would be published on the websites of relevant Departments. The first Annual Report on implementation of the Strategy was published in November 2013 and the second in January 2015, both of which are available on my Department's website. These Annual Reports will provide the Deputy with a list of actions that were identified in the Strategy and what progress has been made on each one since the Strategy’s publication.
Steps have been taken to improve liaison with carers' representatives and to establish clearer lines of accountability. The Department of Health and the Health Service Executive met with carers' representatives at the Annual Carers' forum hosted by the Department of Social Protection today.
413. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health his assessment of the level of support that his Department is providing to carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7810/15]
View answerThe National Carers’ Strategy was published in July 2012 and sets the strategic direction for future policies, services and supports provided by Government Departments and agencies for carers.
It sets out a vision to work towards and an ambitious set of National Goals and Objectives to guide policy development and service delivery to ensure that carers feel valued and supported to manage their caring responsibilities with confidence and are empowered to have a life of their own outside of caring.
The Strategy also contains a Roadmap for Implementation with a suite of actions and associated timelines, and identifies the Government Department responsible for their implementation. It is important to note that the actions in the Roadmap for Implementation are those that can be achieved on a cost neutral basis.
The National Carers' Strategy committed to the production of an Annual Report on progress which would be published on the websites of relevant Departments. The first Annual Report on implementation of the Strategy was published in November 2013 and the second in January 2015, both of which are available on my Department's website. These Annual Reports will provide the Deputy with a list of actions that were identified in the Strategy and what progress has been made on each one since the Strategy’s publication.
Steps have been taken to improve liaison with carers' representatives and to establish clearer lines of accountability. The Department of Health and the Health Service Executive met with carers' representatives at the Annual Carers' forum hosted by the Department of Social Protection today.
The Department of Social Protection has responsibility for the main funding schemes for carers; the Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit, Respite Care Grant and the Domiciliary Care Allowance. Further details of these schemes are available on their website www.welfare.ie .
414. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health if the Mental Health Act will be amended to require health professionals to involve the carers of mental health patients in their treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7811/15]
View answerI acknowledge that patient outcomes tend to be better where families and/or carers are involved in the development of the patient’s care and treatment plan. Health care professionals should proactively encourage patients at all stages to involve their family and/or carer in the development of these plans.
I also accept, however, that patient confidentiality is important and should not be compromised, where in some limited cases, patients specifically request that contact not be made with families and/or carers. For the benefit of the patient, every effort must be made to encourage him or her to involve family and/or carers, but it is equally important to recognise that breaching this confidence against the patient’s wishes, can damage the health professional /patient relationship. It should be noted however that the Medical Council's Ethical Guide does specifically allow a doctor to ethically breach confidentiality if, for example, he/she believes that the patient is at risk of harming himself/herself or others.
An Expert Group which I set up to review the Mental Health Act 2001 has recently completed its work and has presented its final report to me for consideration. The Group examined a range of issues, including the one mentioned by the Deputy. I intend to publish the Expert Group review early next month.
415. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the introduction of community mental health teams; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7812/15]
View answerThe core unit of mental health service delivery is now the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) of which there are 208 in place nationally as follows:
|
Number of Teams |
Description |
|
114 |
General Adult Teams |
|
25 |
Psychiatry of Old Age Teams |
|
63 |
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Teams |
|
3 |
CAMHS Day Hospital Teams |
|
3 |
Liaison CAMHS Teams |
These Teams provide care to individuals living in their own home or in supported accommodation within their own community. The additional funding provided for mental health is being used, in part to ensure that at a minimum, at least one of each mental health professional discipline is represented on all of those teams. This has involved the recruitment of a significant number of multidisciplinary health professionals since 2012 to strengthen this service.
In line with the Programme for Government, my priority as Minister has been to modernise our mental health services, notwithstanding the severe resource constraints overall in recent years, and to prioritise new resources to underpin implementation of A Vision for Change. In that regard, the Government has provided an additional €125 million and some 1,150 posts for mental health comprising €35m with 416 posts in 2012, €35m with 477 posts in 2013, €20m for the recruitment of approximately 250 posts in 2014 and a further €35 million in 2015. The funding is being used to continue to strengthen Community Mental Health Teams for both adults and children, to enhance specialist community mental health services for older people with a mental illness, those with an intellectual disability and mental illness, forensic mental health services, and to enhance access to counselling and psychotherapy in primary care and investment in suicide prevention measures.
At end December 2014, of the 416 approved posts in 2012, approximately 95% (397) are now filled. Of the 477 approved posts in 2013, 78% (367) are filled. The remainder of vacant posts are at various stages of recruitment, with some difficulties in identifying outstanding candidates, primarily for geographic and qualification reasons. Therefore, approximately 86% of combined posts over 2012-13 have taken up duty. Recruitment for 225 approved allocated posts for 2014 has commenced with 4 having agreed start dates and a further 5 posts have been accepted. The remaining approved posts are to be recruited in early 2015.
416. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 428 of 16 December 2014 (details supplied), if he will open the two beds in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, Dublin 12, that were closed for cost-containment reasons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7822/15]
View answer417. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 428 of 16 December 2014 (details supplied), if he will report on discussions between Temple Street Children's University Hospital, Dublin 1, and the Health Service Executive, on the opening of the 14 bed St. Philomena's Ward, should there be demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7823/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 416 and 417 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.
418. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health the average waiting time for a computed tomography, CT, scan at University Hospital Waterford; the number of persons that have been waiting for a scan in excess of six months and in excess of 12 months; the number of hours per week the existing scanner is in operation; the reason the new scanner at University Hospital Waterford, launched in May 2014, is not operational; if training has commenced for diagnostic staff to operate the new scanner; when this training will be completed; when the new scanner will be operational; the number of hours per week it is anticipated that the new scanner will be used; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7825/15]
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 with them.
419. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite final approval for a fair deal nursing home support scheme application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7827/15]
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.
420. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if a required shower seat can be facilitated in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7828/15]
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.
