Written Answers Nos. 363-387
363. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an appointment at Cork University Hospital in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17684/15]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
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 should take the matter up with the consultant and the hospital involved. In relation to the specific case raised, 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.
364. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the number of nurses who are currently waiting for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland; the current waiting time; the actions being taken to reduce the waiting time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17685/15]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for the question raised.
As this is an operational matter, I have referred this question to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) for direct reply to the Deputy. If you have not received a reply from the NMBI within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
365. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if the number of college nursing places will be increased to help deal with the pressures on the health system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17686/15]
View answerI wish to thank the Deputy for the question raised.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland currently manage the Nursing Careers Centre and approve education programmes and sites where that education occurs. There are no plans to increase the number of college places for nurse education programmes at this time. There are 1570 places offered each year. The education programme requires student nurses to experience clinical placements in a variety of settings. The number of places offered is considered an appropriate number which assures a quality education experience where the required competencies can be achieved by each student.
366. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the way his Department can help the private and voluntary nursing home sector, which is experiencing difficulties in the recruitment and retention of nurses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17689/15]
View answerI understand from the HSE that there are two areas under active review in relation to these recruitment and retention issues. Firstly, there is the issue of recruitment of nurses educated and trained in Ireland. The Office of the Nursing and Midwifery Services Director has been supportive in allowing the nursing home sector meet with graduate students in the universities. The Chief Nursing Office in the Department has been engaged with, the nursing home sector in promoting nursing in the older adult as a career choice. The Office has facilitated discussions, spoken at conferences and engaged with 3rd level universities on seeking solutions to this issue. Discussions have involved exploring career pathways within older people services to encourage staff into this area of nursing practice.
The second area under review, relates to the recruitment of global nurses. There are 3 adaptation courses available this year. One has already taken place in April and two more will be held in June and August. These courses are 6 weeks in duration and facilitate the integration of global nurses to nursing in an Irish context. Of the 195 places available only 60 places have been taken to date. The nursing home sector is aware of these vacancies.
In addition, options are being explored with an Irish university to offer a one-day programme of assessment through an examination format. The pilot of this programme will be complete and results available in the last quarter of 2015.
367. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding private health insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17692/15]
View answerThe Health Act 1970 (as amended) provides for two categories of eligibility for all persons ordinarily resident in the country, i.e. full eligibility or limited eligibility for health services. Persons with full eligibility (medical card holders) are entitled to a range of services including general practitioner services, prescribed drugs and medicines, all in-patient public hospital services in public wards including consultant services, all out-patient public hospital services including consultant services, dental, ophthalmic and aural services and appliances and maternity and infant care services. People with limited eligibility (non-medical card holders) are entitled, subject to certain charges, to all in-patient public hospital services in public wards including consultant services and out-patient public hospital services including consultant services.
Separate to the public health system, my Department oversees the maintenance of a competitive and sustainable private health insurance market, under the provisions of the Health Insurance Acts 1994 to 2014, and monitors developments on an ongoing basis to ensure that the market is regulated appropriately. The policy objective of introducing Lifetime Community Rating (LCR) to the health insurance market is to encourage people to purchase health insurance at a younger age, as community-rated markets depend on a continuing influx of younger people to help spread the costs of older and less healthy people across the market and helping to support affordable community-rated premiums for everyone who wishes to purchase insurance.
It is important to note that the purchase of private health insurance is optional. The regulatory framework governing health insurance, such as late entry loadings under LCR and the application of waiting periods for new health insurance customers, applies to all persons choosing to purchase health insurance and is not related to a person's eligibility, or previous eligibility, for public health services. I am satisfied that this measure is fully justified for the purposes of maintaining a stable insurance market which provides equity of treatment between young and old.
368. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will examine an application for home help in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17693/15]
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.
369. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an application for a certificate of current professional status, in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 4; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17694/15]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for the question raised.
As this is an operational matter, I have referred this question to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) for direct reply to the Deputy. If you have not received a reply from the NMBI within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
370. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health when the implementation plan for the national positive ageing strategy will be introduced, in view of the fact that the Government launched the strategy on 24 April 2013, and he made it a priority in January 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17702/15]
View answerThe 2011-2016 Programme for Government committed to completing and implementing the National Positive Ageing Strategy (NPAS) so that older people are recognised, supported and enabled to live independent full lives. In our statement of Health priorities for 2015, the Minister for Health and I have reiterated our commitment to implementing the Strategy.
The National Positive Ageing Strategy provides a vision for an age-friendly society and includes four National Goals and underpinning Objectives to provide direction on the issues that need to be addressed to promote positive ageing. As Minister of State with responsibility for older people, I am driving implementation at political level. The Strategy is a cross-Departmental one and my Department has an overall co-ordinating and collating role and a more direct role for the health-related objectives.
A key objective of this Strategy is to change the mindsets of decision makers across Government agencies and to raise the priority that is given to the concerns of older people. The first step in doing this is to establish a system of regular reporting on actions and initiatives that impact on older people, and these reports are regularly sought and collated by my Department. The fact that such reports are already and will continue to be required will in itself increase the focus that is given to older persons' issues, and these reports will be submitted for the consideration of the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy and Public Sector Reform chaired by An Taoiseach. Implementation is accordingly an ongoing process.
It is important to point out the many initiatives already in train which contribute to the Strategy's goals. For example, in the health sector, in the area of older people’s services and supports, the Review of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme will be completed shortly. The Single Assessment Tool, which will allow for a systematic assessment of need and allocation of services to older people, is being developed by the HSE; measures are being taken to ensure integrated care for older patients, and palliative care services are being improved. The Deputy will also be aware of the recent initiative which saw an additional €25million provided to address the issue of delayed discharges in acute hospitals. The majority of these patients are older people, and these funds are being applied across both long term and short term residential services and at community level. As a result the waiting time for funding of approved patients under the Nursing Home Support scheme has fallen to eleven weeks now from fifteen weeks a short time ago.
A Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative (HaPAI) has also been established to implement the research objective of the National Positive Ageing Strategy. It is a joint initiative between the Department of Health, the HSE’s Health and Wellbeing Programme and the Atlantic Philanthropies and will run from October 2014 to December 2017, with a commitment to Department of Health funding for a further two years. The Initiative will monitor changes in older people’s health and wellbeing linked to the Goals and Objectives of the Positive Ageing Strategy. This will be done primarily through the development of positive ageing indicators to be published every two years. The HSE will also develop a physical activity communications campaign under the Initiative.
371. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will review the anomaly in the long-term illness scheme, whereby a person with mental illness qualifies for the card up to 16 years of age, and on reaching 17 years of age is then automatically disqualified on age grounds and not on illness grounds; and if he will amend the scheme and extend it to adults with long-term mental illness. [17704/15]
View answerThe Long Term Illness (LTI) Scheme was established under Section 59(3) of the Health Act, 1970 (as amended). Regulations were made in 1971, 1973 and 1975 specifying the conditions covered by the LTI Scheme, this includes Mental Illness in a person under 16 years of age. There are no plans at present to amend these regulations.
372. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Health if a centre (details supplied) in County Cork is due for closure [17713/15]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, he can contact my Private Office and they will follow the matter up with the HSE.
373. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if ambulances travelling to St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin 4 with cases for cardiac care have recently been redirected to the Mater Hospital, Dublin 7 as St. Vincent's Hospital is or was no longer accepting new cases via ambulance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17726/15]
View answerAs of 17 April 2015, there are two 24/7 primary percutaneous intervention (PPCI) centres for Dublin, located in the Mater and St James’s Hospitals. These centres accept all ambulance transfers of patients with ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). The provision of PPCI from three 24/7 centres in Dublin (St Vincent's, the Mater and St James’s Hospitals) had proved unsustainable and the decision to consolidate the service into two centres was made following a comprehensive review and reflects the international trend towards the consolidation of such specialised services on smaller number of sites, to allow for the concentration of volume and expertise.
In November 2014, the Acute Hospitals Division of the HSE requested the National Clinical Programme for Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS Programme) to review the current configuration of PPCI services in Dublin, having regard to the requirement to deliver safe, sustainable services on the designated sites. The model of care produced by the ACS Programme was informed by advice from the principals involved in centres in the UK and other European countries. The Programme was also informed by models of care from the US and Australia. Experience at national and international level highlights the importance of having sustainable rotas of clinical staff to support the 24/7 requirements of this service.
The review looked at the number of centres that should be delivering PPCI in Dublin, where these centres should be located and the feasibility of maintaining 9 to 5 PPCI services on any cardiology intervention site. Following consultation with the National Ambulance Service and with all relevant hospitals, the ACS Programme recommended that there should be two 24/7 PPCI centres for Dublin, located in the Mater and St. James’s Hospitals, which would accept all ambulance transfers of patients with STEMI.
The ACS Programme also recommended that there should be a clear definition of the role of the three other cardiology intervention centres in Dublin (Beaumont Hospital, Tallaght Hospital and St Vincent’s University Hospital in the management of Non ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI). NSTEMI forms an increasing proportion of interventional work which will continue and develop in those cardiology intervention centres which will not be designated 24/7 PPCI centres, including St Vincent’s Hospital.
374. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health when funding will be put in place for the promised 24-hour care in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17728/15]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, he can contact my Private Office and they will follow the matter up with the HSE.
375. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in County Dublin was refused treatment in Tallaght Hospital, Dublin 24 [17730/15]
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.
376. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the reason the head of the Health Service Executive's national incident management and learning team stood down from the review of maternity services at Portiuncula Hospital in County Galway; if a person has been appointed to replace head of the team; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17735/15]
View answerOn 30th March last, Saolta University Health Care Group announced the membership of the independent review team who will conduct the review of the maternity services at Portiuncula Hospital Ballinasloe and of a number of perinatal events between 2008 and November 2014.
As this is a service matter the question has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
If no reply has been received from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with the Executive.
377. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 88 of 21 January 2015 in relation to Galway University Hospital, if any scoliosis patients have received the surgery they require from that list. [17740/15]
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.
378. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health if he will revise the prescription charges for medical card holders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17745/15]
View answerPrescription charges are part of a set of measures introduced by Government in recent years to reduce pharmaceutical drugs expenditure. Medical card holders are required to pay a prescription charge of €2.50 per item for medicines and other prescription items supplied to them by community pharmacists, subject to a cap of €25 per month for each person or family. Prescription charges do not apply to children in the care of the Health Service Executive or to methadone supplied to patients participating in the Methadone Treatment Scheme.
There are no plans to amend the prescription charge, however, I am pleased that the prescription charge is frozen at the level set in 2014 as was announced as part of the packet of health measures in Budget 2015.
379. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health whether the establishment of hospital trusts and the introduction of the relevant legislation will be completed within the lifetime of the current Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17748/15]
View answerAs noted in my response to the Deputy on 28th April last, Phase II of the Health Reform Programme, as set out in Future Health, provides for the dissolution and replacement of the HSE with the introduction of a formal purchaser/provider split, the establishment of a Healthcare Commissioning Agency and a range of provider agencies, including Hospital Trusts. It is essential that the hospital trust legislation is developed as part of the overall reform process and that the appropriate structures are in place in advance of formal establishment of trusts. This is a complex health reform programme and it is expected to take a number of years before hospital trust legislation is introduced.
380. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an operation in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17760/15]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
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.
381. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will restore the rheumatology outreach clinic in Letterkenny in County Donegal, the absence of which has caused enormous stress to local residents. [17763/15]
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.
382. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health his plans for the re-instatement of rheumatology services at Letterkenny General Hospital, County Donegal; if he will provide an expected timeframe for the commencement of such a service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17773/15]
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.
383. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health his plans to review or alter the payment system for drugs currently in operation as part of the long-term illness scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17774/15]
View answerThe Long Term Illness (LTI) Scheme was established under Section 59(3) of the Health Act, 1970 (as amended) under which the HSE may make arrangements for the supply without charge of drugs, medicines or medical and surgical appliances to persons suffering from a prescribed disease or disability of a permanent or long-term nature. There are no plans to alter the Scheme.
Regulations were made in 1971, 1973 and 1975 specifying the conditions covered by the LTI Scheme, which are as follows: Acute Leukaemia; Mental handicap; Cerebral Palsy; Mental Illness (in a person under 16); Cystic Fibrosis; Multiple Sclerosis; Diabetes Insipidus; Muscular Dystrophies; Diabetes Mellitus; Parkinsonism; Epilepsy; Phenylketonuria; Haemophilia; Spina Bifida; Hydrocephalus; and conditions arising from the use of Thalidomide.
384. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Donegal will receive an appointment for cataract surgery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17775/15]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
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.
385. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown, in tabular form, per county, of the number of persons who applied for the motorised transport grant scheme for each of the five years preceding the closure of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17778/15]
View answer386. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown, in tabular form, per county, of the number of persons who applied for the mobility allowance scheme for each of the five years preceding the closure of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17779/15]
View answer387. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the progress of the health (transport supports) Bill; if he is confident this Bill will proceed through the Oireachtas during the current Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17780/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 385 to 387, inclusive, together.
The information available to the Department is that the number of applications for the Motorised Transport Grant in 2010 was 785. There were 647 applications in 2011 and 436 applications were received by the HSE in 2012 to the end of September that year. The number of applications for Mobility Allowance for 2010 was 821. There were 978 applications in 2011 and 780 applications were received in 2012 to the end of September that year.
The Department is putting together a tabular breakdown of the national figures above by local health area and will forward it to the Deputy as soon as possible. This information relates to 2010, 2011 and 2012 up to the end of September 2012. The figures for 2008 and 2009 are not readily available.
Work is ongoing on the policy proposals to be brought to Government for the drafting of primary legislation for a new scheme. Once policy proposals have been finalised and approved by Government, the time frame for the introduction of a new scheme will become clearer. The Health (Transport Supports) Bill is included in the Government's legislative programme for 2015. The Department is seeking a solution which would best meet the aim of supporting people with severe disabilities who require additional income to contribute towards the cost of their mobility needs, while remaining within the available budget and satisfying all legal and equality concerns.
