Written Answers Nos. 169 - 179
169. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if a medical assessment can, and will be, offered in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19087/15]
View answerAs this is a service issue this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply. If the Deputy has not received a reply within 15 working days, will he please contact my private office and it will follow up the matter with him.
170. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his views on a matter regarding the provision of a Parkinson's nurse (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19091/15]
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 it will follow the matter up with the HSE.
171. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health when a medical card renewal will issue in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19092/15]
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, will he please contact my Private Office who will follow up the matter with him.
172. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the number of persons currently awaiting placement under the fair deal scheme; the average waiting time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19113/15]
View answerAs of the 8 May 2015 (latest figures available) there are 547 people on the national placement list for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme with an average wait time of 4 weeks. The budget for the Scheme in 2015 is €993m which reflects an increase of €54m from the 2014 position. The additional €54m was allocated to the Scheme as part of wider initiatives to alleviate the problem of delayed discharges in acute hospitals and has resulted in 1900 extra approvals under the Scheme.
173. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the action he will be taking on foot of the February 2015 Health Service Executive performance report, which indicates that many hospitals are not adhering to the 80-20 public-private mix. [19114/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days he may contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
174. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health in view of the consultants contract put in place in 2008-2009, and the provisions in it with regard to Category B consultants which stated that they could do no more than 20% private work relative to their public work, the number of breaches of this provision that have occurred each year since 2009; the number of occasions in which action has been taken against consultants for such breaches; and the sum total of any payments made by consultants, in compensation for breaches of the contract. [19115/15]
View answerI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on the matter. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days will he please contact my Private Office and it will follow up the matter with the HSE.
175. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the number of medical cards; general practitioner visit medical cards; and the number for each type, issued on a discretionary basis, as of 1 May 2015. [19116/15]
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, he can contact my Private Office which will follow up the matter.
176. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 487 of 21 April 2015, and the reply provided by the Health Service Executive, his views that the executive has not collated data regarding the number of promotions that have been put in place for staff in the executive, since September 2014. [19117/15]
View answerThe National Recruitment Service is not in a position to provide statistics on whether appointees into promotional post are internal or external to the HSE. This information is not supplied by candidates and therefore cannot be collated by the National Recruitment Service.
177. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health in view of the World Health Organization report on obesity levels, the measures he is introducing to deal with this public health problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19121/15]
View answerWe know that in Ireland the level of obesity has doubled over the past 20 years. Currently two thirds of adults are overweight or obese and one in four children are overweight or obese. One in five adults are physically inactive and only 25 per cent of children meet the guidelines on physical activity. The report in question arises from a recent presentation by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the European Congress on Obesity in Prague. At this meeting the WHO presented the results of their obesity forecasting modelling project.
This looked at data from 53 European countries comparing recorded data from 2010 and projected figures for 2030. It is reported that the proportion of overweight and obesity will increase in Irish men from 74 and 26 percent to 89 and 48 percent. For women the increase in obesity will be from 23 to 57 per cent. The WHO states that by 2030 Europe will face an obesity crisis of “enormous proportions”. The WHO caution that the data needs to be interpreted with extreme caution as it is a forecasting exercise. The authors of the report call for Governments to do more to restrict unhealthy food marketing, inform consumers about what’s in food and make healthy food more affordable.
In response to the obesity epidemic, my Department established a Special Action Group on Obesity in 2011 and is working on a range of measures including: The development of revised Healthy Eating Guidelines: Media campaigns to promote awareness on healthy eating: Treatment Guidelines for overweight and obesity: Calorie Posting in restaurants: Developing a code of practice for marketing in the non- broadcast media.
In addition, Ireland proposed the development of an EU Action Plan on Childhood Obesity and is now leading part of this work. A National Physical Activity Plan will soon be launched by Healthy Ireland and the Department of Health and the Department of Education and Skills have also been working to ensure a more co-ordinated approach and infrastructure to support schools and teachers to address health and wellbeing issues arising in schools.
In recognition of the obesity challenge, I have prioritised the development of an Obesity Policy and Action Plan under the Healthy Ireland Framework as a 2015 major project. The plan will run from 2015 to 2025. A national consultation day was held last week with approximately 150 key stakeholders. Further consultation days are planned for children and healthcare professionals. This action plan will be finalised this year and brought to government for approval. Significant progress has already been made in implementing Healthy Ireland. It is only through taking this “whole of Government” and “whole of society” approach to improving health and wellbeing, that we can collectively address the environmental conditions leading to many health problems.
178. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health his views on the figures from the State Claims Agency indicating a higher number of claims against maternity hospitals outside of Dublin than in Dublin, over the past three years; if he has taken any measures to investigate this; and if he will report on discussions he has had regarding this matter with hospital management, the Health Service Executive and Department officials. [19122/15]
View answerApproximately 60% of births occur in HSE run maternity units and 40% in Dublin voluntary maternity hospital units.
The State Claims Agency (SCA) has provided further clarification in relation to the figures it released to a Sunday newspaper, which were based on a very specific series of questions from that newspaper.
The SCA has advised my Department that when symphysiotomy claims are removed from the figures originally provided, the following information emerges. Approximately 70% of claims are against HSE run maternity hospital units and 30% are against Dublin voluntary maternity hospital units. Claims against HSE run maternity units as a percentage of overall national births amount to 0.20% for 2014. Claims against voluntary maternity hospital units amount to 0.13% for 2014.
These figures provide a more significant contextualisation of the figures which appeared in the Sunday newspaper.
My Department is developing a National Maternity Strategy which will provide strategic direction for the optimal development of maternity services to ensure that women have access to safe, high quality maternity care in a setting most appropriate to their needs. A Maternity Strategy Steering Group has been established to advise on the development of the Strategy. The Head of Clinical Risk in the State Claims Agency is a member of the Group.
I also intend to establish a National Women & Infants Health Programme to address and improve maternity services around the country and to implement the policy being developed by the Maternity Strategy Steering Group. The Programme will provide the cross-sectoral framework and the necessary governance, integration and leadership to drive reform and standardise care across all 19 maternity units.
|
Maternity Services Claims Created as a % of Total (excl Symphysiotomy) |
- |
- |
- |
|
2012 % |
2013 % |
2014 % |
|
|
HSE run |
69.4 |
67 |
70.4 |
|
Voluntary run |
30.6 |
33 |
29.6 |
|
Maternity Services Claims Created (excl Symphysiotomy) as % of Births |
- |
- |
- |
|
2012 % |
2013 % |
2014 % |
|
|
HSE run |
0.19 |
0.15 |
0.20 |
|
Voluntary run |
0.14 |
0.12 |
0.13 |
179. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence regarding services in respect of a person (details supplied) with an intellectual disability in Dublin 3; the catchment area of the services available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19129/15]
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 it will follow the matter up with the HSE.
