Written Answers Nos. 220 - 229
220. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health if he will provide available turnaround figures for the emergency aero-medical ambulance service at each acute hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9798/15]
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.
221. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown of the way, and where, the €35 million funding allocated for the development of community mental health services in 2015 will be spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9800/15]
View answerThe National Service Plan 2015 provides for funding of €792 million for HSE Mental Health Services. This includes additional funding of €35 million held by the Department of Health pending agreement with the HSE on how this will be spent.
Discussions are currently taking place between my Department and the HSE on the final allocation of these funds. In line with the priority areas for development of mental health services, set out in A Vision for Change, I announced in Budget 2015 that the additional funding would be directed to the continued prioritised development and reconfiguration of both the General Adult and the Child & Adolescent Community Mental Health teams, and also to more specialist areas which have not heretofore received the same degree of attention. These areas include Psychiatry of Late Life, and urgent specialist needs such as psychiatric intensive care, forensic mental health, mental health intellectual disability care and psychiatric liaison services.
I hope to finalise the allocation of the additional funds with the HSE in the very near future.
The Department of Health will continue to liaise closely with the HSE in relation to the normal monitoring processes for delivering mental health priorities agreed in the 2015 National Service Plan, including for services to be funded from the additional allocation.
The additional funding in 2015 is part of the substantial allocation of new funds for mental health under this Government, amounting to a total of €125 million, including the 2015 allocation.
222. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Health the proposals in place to ensure that general practitioners' medical files are transferred between doctors when the need arises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9813/15]
View answer223. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Health the procedures that are in place to ensure the recovery of patient files from general practitioners who fail to transfer patient files to another practice when requested to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9820/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 222 and 223 together.
Paragraphs 22 and 23 of the General Medical Services 1989 Capitation Contract make provision for a medical practitioner to keep adequate clinical records and for the transfer of those records or a summary of same when a GMS patient is transferring to the list of another GMS contract holder.
Paragraph 23 states as follows:
“When a person on the medical practitioner's list is transferred to the list of another medical practitioner providing services under section 58 of the Health Act 1970, the former medical practitioner shall, subject to the written consent of the person (or in the case of a child, his parent) give to the second medical practitioner a summary of the medical history and condition of the patient.
On the death of a participating medical practitioner, the health board shall arrange through the General Manager for the transfer of the records of his GMS patients to the doctor providing services for these patients. Where it is necessary to take custody of the records this should be done by the appropriate General Manager.
Where a participating medical practitioner retires or resigns from the GMS Scheme the health board should inform each patient, when notifying him of the name of the new doctor, that the records are being transferred to this doctor. The patient should be notified that if he does not agree to the transfer of his records he should indicate this to the health board within fourteen days of the notification. Records deposited with the General Manager may be destroyed after a reasonable time.”
The Medical Council’s Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Medical Practitioners (7th Edition 2009) states that the doctor has a duty to maintain accurate and up-to-date patient records either in manual or electronic form and that doctors are expected to be aware of his/her obligations under the Data Protection Acts. The Guide also states that patients are entitled to receive a copy of their own medical records, provided this does not put their health (or the health, safety or privacy of others) at risk and that this right of access is provided for by law.
The Guideline also states that if a doctor decides to withdraw their services, either as an individual practitioner or as part of a team or group that has decided to withdraw care, when alternative medical care is in place, he/she should transfer the patient’s medical records without delay.
If issues arise regarding the transfer of a GMS patient’s records to their new GMS GP, the patient may seek advice from their local health office.
If issues arise regarding the transfer of a private patient’s records to another GP, the patient may seek advice from the Medical Council.
224. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 125 of 1 April 2014, the reason the 2011 to 2013 mortality rates, by hospital, have not been published; if his Department has received a copy of the report, and when; when the report will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9822/15]
View answerThe National Healthcare Quality Reporting System is published today, 5 March 2015. It is accessible on the Department of Health's website (www.health.gov.ie).
225. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health the number of Health Service Executive beds vacant in Dublin for respite care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9848/15]
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.
226. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Health the waiting time for magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, scans at the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore, County Offaly; if there are provisions for emergency scans to take place, particularly for public patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9851/15]
View answerAs 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.
227. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health with regard to the €25 million allocated to tackle delayed discharges, the amount of this now being spent. [9853/15]
View answerDelayed discharges arise when a patient has been judged clinically to no longer have a requirement for acute hospital care but remains in an acute hospital bed, thus rendering that bed unavailable for patients who need admission. In Budget 2015 the Government allocated €25m to tackle the problem of delayed discharges and this additional funding is being applied across residential and community services to reflect the varying needs of patients.
Of the €25m allocated towards supporting the Delayed Discharge Initiative the following is the position:
- €10m allocated for NHSS is supporting 300 additional places on the scheme since the first week in December 2014.
- Of the €8m allocated towards short stay beds €3m is supporting transitional care arrangements with the beds allocated in terms of their use to support the specific acute hospitals as outlined in the HSE Service Plan 2015.
- The balance of €5m will be used to support 65 beds in the former Mount Carmel hospital which will start to come on stream in April 2015.
- €5m is allocated to support acute hospital discharges in specific hospitals through Home Care Package provision and these are allocated out and in use by the various hospitals.
- €2m has been provided to expand Community Intervention Team services in the greater Dublin area and this has been implemented and including the extension of the services to cover the areas around Naas and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitals.
The HSE is also ensuring that all possible measures are being implemented to deal with the current surge in activity being experienced in Emergency Department's in the acute hospital system. Such measures include:-
The prioritisation of Home Care Services to those requiring same to be discharged to their own homes. The provision of Transitional Care Beds (TCBs) to patients who have finished their acute care episodes and require on-going residential care services. To this end the HSE has approved in excess of 1,000 places across the country since 6 January 2015.
228. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health if home support hours make provision for housekeeping tasks, as well as personal care, for patients in need of maximum support, particularly those with no immediate family support; if the criteria for the allocation of home support hours are consistent throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9871/15]
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.
229. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 421 of 17 February 2015, if he will clarify in what manner this application was incorrectly witnessed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9606/15]
View answerAll applications which are witnessed by members of An Garda Síochána must have Section 9 of the application form completed by the witnessing Garda. This requires the Garda’s signature, Name, Rank, Garda Number and Garda Station to be completed on the form.
