Written Answers Nos. 419-438
419. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health if he is satisfied that nurses will be recruited to fill existing vacancies in Beaumont Hospital's accident and emergency unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24658/15]
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.
420. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health if St. Joseph's Hospital in Dublin 5 could be used for a purpose (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24659/15]
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.
421. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update regarding the Coolock and Darndale Primary Care Centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24660/15]
View answerThe Coolock/Darndale Primary Care Centre project is one of 14 to be delivered as a single PPP project. Following a detailed tender evaluation process the National Development Finance Agency announced the Prime-Balfour Beatty consortium as the preferred tenderer in May 2015. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2016 and it is expected that the primary care centres will be delivered by early 2017. In the meantime work is continuing on the financial and legal provisions of the project contract.
Additional detail on the project is available on this website - http://www.ndfa.ie/TenderCompetitions/PrimaryCareCentresPPPProgramme.htm
422. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update regarding the Edenmore Primary Care Centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24661/15]
View answerThe HSE has responsibility for the provision, maintenance and operation of Primary Care Centres. Therefore, this matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and 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.
423. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Laois will have a procedure performed; if priority will be given to this case in view of the fact the person has undergone numerous courses of antibiotics and steroid treatments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24683/15]
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.
424. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health the assistance available to clients of residential care facilities in respect of occupational aids that may be required; the person responsible for the purchase of aids for individual residents, such as hospital beds, recliner chairs, wheelchairs and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24684/15]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for the administration of the primary care schemes; therefore the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to you.
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.
425. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health his views in relation to the cross-Border directive regarding public patients; and if he will confirm that every general practitioner office, health centre, patient association, hospital, primary care unit, citizen's information centre, children's orthodontist service, and any other outlet that has access to public patients on waiting lists provides this information as part of their contract with health services. [24703/15]
View answerThe Health Service Executive operates the EU Directive on Patients’ Rights in Cross Border Healthcare in Ireland. In line with practice in other EU Member States, the HSE, through the National Contact Point (NCP) office, provides information for patients on the Cross-Border Directive on its website - http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/schemes/cbd/-and also by phone. The principal function of the NCP (which is the mechanism specified under the Directive for the dissemination of information on the Directive by Member States) is to facilitate exchange of information for patients concerning their rights and entitlements relating to receiving healthcare in another Member State, in particular the terms and conditions for reimbursement of cost and the procedures for accessing and determining those entitlements.
The NCP also has a responsibility to ensure that all enquirers are informed of the right to healthcare, if any, that they may have through the European legislation on the coordination of social security schemes (EU Regulation 883/04) and which may be more beneficial to them. The NCP is able to inform patients what the cost of their treatments would be in Ireland to allow them make a comparison with the costs they are being quoted for comparable treatment in another Member State.
Similar to other healthcare schemes operated by EU Member States under Community legislation, access to healthcare abroad under the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive is based on patients following public patient pathways, hence the HSE has in particular concentrated on informing the doctors who make the referrals. For example, prior to the transposition of the Directive the HSE met with the ICGP and various consultants at hospital level to inform them of the provisions of the new Directive. The HSE has also participated in an EU Patients Forum conference which was held in Dublin in April to inform patient groups of the Directive.
Additionally, the HSE is at this time actively engaged with consultants representing two specific cohorts of patients to facilitate access to certain diagnostics and treatment for which there are long waiting lists in Ireland. The HSE welcomes requests from Hospital Medical Boards to present and inform the doctors of the provision to refer patients to other EU/EEA countries for healthcare under the terms of the Directive.
426. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health his views on whether it is appropriate that some patients are left waiting for physiotherapy (details supplied) so long that they have to make the decision to be treated privately as they cannot stick the pain any longer, in some cases taking out loans to cover the cost of treatment. [24706/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive 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.
427. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the financial assistance potentially available to help purchase a specifically designed car seat in the case of the daughter of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24715/15]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply. 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 up the matter with the HSE.
428. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Health if the Health Service Executive plans to have a defibrillator installed in each of its health centres; the estimated cost of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24718/15]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive 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.
429. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health the number of requests for terminations of pregnancy that have been made under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013; and the number granted. [24722/15]
View answerThe Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act provides that I, as the Minister for Health, must publish a report covering the operation of the Act in the preceding year by 30th June each year and lay it before the Houses of the Oireachtas. As the Act was commenced on 1st January 2014, the first annual report covering its operation will be published shortly.
430. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the progress to date in determining an appeal 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. [24728/15]
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.
431. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of the recent decision by the local government in San Francisco, to ban the inclusion of toys with fast food outlet meals (details supplied); his views on the promotion and advertisement methods used by fast food outlets here, such as the inclusion of toys along with meals for children; if he believes that such promotions can place undue pressure on parents who seek to limit their children's access to such foods; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24750/15]
View answerI am aware of the San Francisco initiative referred to by the Deputy. As obesity is a major public health challenge, my Department and I, have initiated a number of developments to address the problem:
1. Developing an Obesity Policy and Action Plan to be finalised this year.
2. Establishing a technical group which will develop a code of conduct on marketing, promotion and sponsorship of food.
3. Currently preparing legislation on Calorie Posting on Menus.
432. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health further to Questions Nos. 608, 647 and 648 of 26 May 2015, if he will provide details of the priority areas, and of the needs and significant gaps in staff numbers (details supplied); if he will provide, in tabular form, any analysis that has been made for staff numbers needed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24752/15]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has recognised the need to increase the level of consistency and standardisation in the way both early intervention services and services for school-aged children with disabilities, including autism, are delivered.
The Executive is currently engaged in a major reconfiguration of its existing therapy resources for children with disabilities into multi-disciplinary geographically based teams, as part of its National Programme on Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (0-18 years). The key objective of this Programme is to bring about equity of access to disability services and consistency of service delivery, with a clear pathway for children with disabilities and their families to services, regardless of where they live, what school they go to or the nature of the individual child's difficulties.
The Programme is a key priority for the HSE's Social Care Directorate. An additional €4m was allocated in 2014 to assist in implementing the Programme, equating to approximately 80 additional therapy posts. Further investment of €4 million will also be made to support the development of therapy services in 2015 (equating to €6 million in a full year). The transition to this new service model is taking place on a phased basis and includes consultation and engagement with stakeholders, including service users and their families.
My Department has asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy in respect of the detailed operational issues that he has raised. 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.
433. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Health the areas of the country in which the Health Service Executive provides funding towards the provision of special needs assistance support; and if the support is provided directly by the executive or through a third party. [24756/15]
View answer434. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm that the Health Service Executive plans to continue the provision of funding for special needs assistance support on an ad hoc basis, or to introduce a fair, transparent, nationwide system, that is in keeping with the principles of the Progressing Disability Services Strategy. [24757/15]
View answer454. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Health if the Health Service Executive provides funding for the provision of special needs assistants; if so, if he will provide details of the basis on which funding is allocated; if he will provide in tabular form, by county, for 2014, the number of special needs assistants funded by the executive; the number funded in each county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24894/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 433, 434 and 454 together.
The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme, which is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, provides for a free pre-school year to eligible children in the year before they commence primary school. The objective of this scheme is to support early learning in a formal setting in advance of starting school. I understand that certain flexibilities are built into the scheme in an effort to accommodate children with special needs, such as an overage exemption, or waiver, for children with special needs who do not meet the age criteria and the option to avail of the free pre-school year over two years.
The Health Service Executive has no statutory obligation to provide assistant supports for children with special needs wishing to avail of the free pre-school year. However, the HSE does work at local level and in partnership with the relevant disability service providers to address individual needs as they arise. This is done, for example, by funding special pre-schools that cater specifically for children with disabilities. In some limited cases at local level, disability services have also facilitated children with disabilities to attend mainstream pre-schools by providing assistant supports where possible and where resources are available. The provision of such pre-school assistant supports should not be confused with Special Needs Assistants who are funded by the Department of Education and Skills to support children with special educational needs in primary and post-primary school settings.
The Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures children and young people's policy framework that has been developed by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs contains a commitment to develop a plan for the inclusion of children with a disability in mainstream pre-school and early years settings. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has lead responsibility for the implementation of this commitment and over the summer months will coordinate an intensive process of deliberation and appropriate consultation in conjunction with my Department and the Department of Education and Skills to develop a cross-Departmentally supported proposal for an appropriate model for supports to pre-school children with special needs.
Within this context, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy in relation to the operational information he has requested insofar as this is available. 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.
435. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) in County Donegal is on the routine or urgent waiting list in Letterkenny General Hospital in County Donegal for exploration laparoscopy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24763/15]
View answer436. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Donegal will receive an appointment for exploration laparoscopy in Letterkenny General Hospital in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24764/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 435 and 436 together.
Under 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.
437. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details of his Department's assessment of the proposed minor ailment scheme; if he will introduce same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24770/15]
View answerThe development of primary care services is an essential component of the health reform process. In a developed primary care system, up to 95% of people's day-to-day health and social care needs can be met in the primary care setting. Pharmacy services are well placed within the community to provide essential health advice and to support effective care at the lowest level of complexity.
As we continue to experience increased pressure on resources within the health system, it is necessary to consider new and innovative ways to provide the services required. Expanding the role of the community pharmacist to include provision of services such as a Minor Ailments Scheme is worth exploring as we seek to further expand and develop the primary care sector. A Minor Ailments Scheme can offer patients real benefits in terms of improving patient access and choice in the delivery of primary care services. It is however important that such proposals generate real savings on existing public expenditure, as the health service continues to operate within tight budget constraints.
My Department has engaged the services of the Health Research Board to undertake a review of the evidence base for such a service, including the application of such schemes in other countries. It is expected that the evidence review will be completed by the autumn. This piece of research will further inform the Department's consideration of this policy proposal, including any contractual or funding implications that may arise.
438. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details of switching of medications from a prescription to a non-prescription basis by the Health Products Regulatory Authority; if 12 potential switches have been identified; if a further eight are to be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24771/15]
View answerReclassification of the method of sale and supply of medicines is a specific area of focus for the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA). In July 2014, the Authority published a group of 12 substances which it considered suitable for reclassification. These related to over 30 medicines used for the treatment of a variety of conditions including migraine, gastro-intestinal disorders, dermatological conditions and others. Medicines containing these substances can, in certain circumstances be reclassified to be made available over the counter in pharmacies and supplied without prescription.
In addition to this initial publication of 12 substances, the HPRA in December 2014 identified a further group of substances suitable for reclassification. These included reclassification from both "prescription only medicine" (POM) to "over the counter in pharmacy" (OTC) status, and OTC to "general retail sale" (GSL) status.
There were 6 POM to OTC substances. These substances cover medicines used in treatment areas such as irritable bowel syndrome, psoriasis, migraine and topical treatments for inflammatory conditions in muscles, and joints.
There were 7 OTC to GSL substances. These substances cover a range of medicines primarily used topically for the treatment of: minor burns and scalds; insect bites and stings; inflammation and pain in muscles and joints; mild acne; hair loss in baldness. They also include medicines used in the treatment of eye irritation associated with hay fever and oral rehydration salts.
The HPRA has directly communicated with the marketing authorisation holders for the above products (32 products in total) with a view to determining interest in the submission of reclassification applications and possible timelines for this. The HPRA has to date received 35 expressions of interest in relation to reclassification of all of the medicines involved and is working closely with industry on this matter.
