Written Answers Nos. 511-531
511. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a computed tomography, CT, scan at Mercy hospital in County Cork for a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36528/15]
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 up the matter.
512. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a cataract operation for persons (details supplied) in Dublin 3 and 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36529/15]
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 up the matter.
513. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will examine and expedite an application for a medical card by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36534/15]
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.
514. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the reason there is no general practitioner present in the accident and emergency department of Beaumont Hospital in Dublin 9 after midnight and at weekends; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36551/15]
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 up the matter.
515. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the amount of revenue generated through parking charges at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin 9 for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 to date; if the hospital has any control over the pricing structure of the parking charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36552/15]
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 up the matter.
516. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 299 and 300 of 13 October 2015 regarding the cost of extending free general practitioner care to all those under 18 years of age and his Department's current estimate of the full-year cost of providing this care for the whole population on the basis of the scope and content of the general practitioner service, the relevant fee structure and the eligibility rates applying to the under sixes scheme. [36557/15]
View answerThe fees and allowances (structure and rates) relating to the under-6 GP contract are set out in Schedule 1 of that contract, i.e. the agreement for the provision of services for the Health (General Practitioner Service) Act 2014, as per the attached table. The contract is available online at:
http://health.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Under-6s-Form-of-Agreement-GP-Contract1.pdf
The other relevant payments outlined in the final row of the table are set out in Schedules 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Statutory Instrument 277/2013, which is available online at: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2013/si/277/made/en/pdf.
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Fees and Allowances payable to GP contract holders in respect of Child Patients on their panel |
€ |
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Annual Capitation Fee per Child Patient on the GP’s panel, which includes two periodic assessments, one at age two and one at age five. |
€125.00 |
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Initial Asthma diagnosis and registration after the Child Patient reaches the age of two years |
€50.00 |
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Enhanced capitation in year one post registration (subject to submission of annual dataset return). Includes two visits, one at three months post registration and an annual review visit. |
€90.00 |
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Enhanced capitation for each subsequent year up to and including the age of five years (subject to submission of annual dataset return) |
€45.00 |
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Special Services (Special Items of Service) for Under 6 Patients |
|
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Service |
Amount |
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Removal of lodged or impacted foreign bodies from the: (a) ear (b) nose (c) throat (d) skin |
€24.80 |
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Removal of adherent foreign bodies from the conjunctival surface of the eye |
€24.80 |
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Suturing of cuts and lacerations (including application of tissue glue) |
€37.21 |
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Excisions/cryotherapy/diathermy of skin lesions |
€24.80 |
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Draining of abscess |
€24.80 |
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Nebuliser treatment in the case of acute asthmatic attack |
€37.21 |
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Treatment and plugging of nasal and dental haemorrhages |
€24.80 |
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Attendance by General Practitioner at case conferences |
€62.02 |
All Other relevant payments, such as Out-of-Hours, Rural Practice Allowance, Second Medical Opinion, Practice Support Subsidies, Contribution towards Locum expenses, etc. will be in accordance with the rates payable under the General Medical Services (GMS) Capitation Contract.
517. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) in County Longford, who has been waiting on the public list for over two years, can have a back disc operation done privately; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36561/15]
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 up the matter.
518. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if he will examine and expedite an application for a full medical card by persons (details supplied) in County Longford, as all information has been submitted three times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36562/15]
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.
519. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if he will examine and expedite a review of an appeal for a medical card on serious health grounds for persons (details supplied) in County Longford, as all medical reports have been submitted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36593/15]
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.
520. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if he will address a matter regarding home help hours for a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36595/15]
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.
521. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite an appointment for a clinical and educational assessment for a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36596/15]
View answerAs the particular issue raised by the Deputy relates to an individual case, this is a service matter for the Health Service Executive. Accordingly, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE 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.
522. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Health the action he will take to expedite the processing of nurse registration applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36599/15]
View answerI am pleased to report that progress has been made in relation to the registration delays in the NMBI. To 13 October 2015, 1,495 applicants have been registered this year, the highest in many years, of which 758 were Irish-trained applicants. The number of applications received to 13 October this year is up 139% on the same period in 2014. I would like to advise the Deputy that, to 13 October, the number of people registered in 2015 was 1,495 and when this is compared to the same period in 2014, the number of people registered is 967 - this represents an increase of 55%.
The latest figures from the NMBI indicate that they have 1,980 open applications, of which:
- 1,348 have documentation outstanding (61%);
- 81 have been approved and a fee is awaited by the NMBI; and
- 168 further cases are waiting review.
The Department has approved the filling of 16 posts and temporary measures have been put in place to ensure all applications received are dealt with in a timely manner. NMBI informed the department on the 24 September that there are currently no backlogs in processing the post.
Seven adaptation programmes have been held for the nursing home sector since 2014 in order to allow overseas nurses to register in Ireland. One adaption programme has commenced and a further programme is scheduled later in the year. I understand that five adaption programmes will be held in 2016. At 23 September 2015, some 405 places have been made available so far on these courses.
The NMBI has approved on a pilot basis, a new aptitude test with RCSI as an alternative method to assess candidates for registration. Nurses are currently being advised of the availability of this test and all who have a letter for adaptation are being contacted to advise them of this development. This test will be provided in November 2015 when a minimum cohort of 25 nurses is secured. Successful candidates will be recommended for registration to NMBI by RCSI.
On 8 October 2015, a new overseas call centre service was launched by NMBI in response to the significant increase in applications for registration from overseas nurses and midwives. NHI and other key stakeholders were informed of the new overseas call centre service on 7 October. The website has been updated to inform the wider audience.
523. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health when children will be called for tuberculosis, BCG, vaccinations which have been missed due to the shortage of vaccines; if priority will be given to children who missed out on the vaccine as infants, and in primary school, as is the case in the west of Ireland, given that there is an upper age limit for the BCG vaccine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36609/15]
View answer524. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the Health Service Executive policy for vaccinating children who missed out on tuberculosis, BCG, vaccinations due to production difficulties; when the vaccine will be available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36610/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 523 and 524 together.
There is currently a worldwide shortage of BCG and Ireland is not the only country affected by this. There is only one licensed supplier of BCG vaccine to Ireland and to other countries within the EU. The vaccine has not been available since the end of April 2015 and babies born after the last day of April have not been immunised. Based on an estimated 5,500 - 6,000 babies born every month this means that 33,000 - 36,000 babies are due to be vaccinated. The licensed supplier has informed the HSE that the BCG vaccine will be delivered into Ireland in late October. The HSE will arrange appointments for vaccination clinics when the BCG vaccine supply is received.
Since this problem became apparent, the HSE National Immunisation Office has been in regular contact with the manufacturer of BCG and with the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) who licenses vaccines in Ireland as well as with other relevant stakeholders. The HPRA have been seeking to find an alternative supply of BCG that meets safety, quality and effectiveness standards and that could be used in Ireland. To date no appropriate alternative manufacturer of BCG vaccine has been found.
In early 2015 the HSE asked the HPRA to look at extending the shelf life of BCG vaccine from 12 months to 18 months. The HPRA reviewed the necessary documentation and agreed to extend the shelf life of any new delivery of BCG vaccine to 18 months. Any new deliveries of BCG will have an 18 month shelf life.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) and the National TB Advisory Committee have recommended stopping routine BCG vaccination of newborn babies and instead provide a selective vaccination of babies in high-risk babies groups. The Department of Health have requested the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to conduct a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to review the implications of this change. HIQA commenced a public consultation on proposed changes to the BCG vaccination programme in Ireland on September 9th 2015. The HTA will be available by the end of the year.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a notifiable disease under the Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 452 of 2011). In 2014, 328 cases of TB were notified to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, giving a national TB notification rate of 7.1 per 100,000, the lowest rate reported since surveillance commenced. According to the World Health Organisation, the definition of a low incidence TB country is one with a national TB notification rate of less than 10 cases per 100,000, Ireland is in this category.
In Ireland the number of cases of TB has been falling and there were no cases of TB in young children in 2014. Most European countries, including the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland do not give BCG vaccine to all babies. Babies are not at risk of TB because of the delay in getting BCG vaccine in Ireland.
BCG vaccination is usually given to newborn babies, but can also be given to older children and adults who are considered to be at risk of developing TB.
Resolving the issue of the shortage of BCG remains a priority for me.
525. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the reason some primary, community and continuing care, PCCC, services are still calling newborn children for the tuberculosis, BCG, vaccine while children are left on a two-year waiting list in other PCCC areas; if the procurement and distribution of vaccines has been centralised, as advised, following previous problems; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36611/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive 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.
526. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 58 of 14 October 2015, the number of representations that specifically mention ambulance and Loughglynn to each Minister in each year concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36613/15]
View answerAs indicated in my response to PQ no 35835/15 on Wednesday 14 October 2015, representations to each Minister are logged in database in their various offices. Following a search of these databases, Loughglynn was not mentioned in any representations to the Minister for Health in 2015 regarding ambulance services. However, it has been mentioned in four responses to representations about ambulance services. The search yielded no further results in the representations databases for Minister Lynch or Minister White.
527. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Health when a decision on an application for a medical card will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36615/15]
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.
528. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if the financial cost of a special hip operation to be carried out on a person (details supplied) in County Longford who is an old age pensioner and whose surgery cannot be facilitated in the Midlands Regional Hospital but is possible in the Galway Clinic will be borne in full or in part by the General Medical Services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36616/15]
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 up the matter.
529. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Health if there will be an increase in home help hours in County Wexford in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36617/15]
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.
530. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of the stand-off between the National Treatment Purchase Fund and fair deal that is preventing the AnovoCare nursing home from opening, and clients from taking up residence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36618/15]
View answerThe legislation underpinning the Nursing Homes Support Scheme requires each private nursing home to negotiate and agree a price for long-term residential care services with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) should they wish to be an approved nursing home for the purposes of the Scheme.
The NTPF is independent in the performance of this function and, in carrying it out, must ensure value for money for both the individual and the State. It negotiates with each nursing home individually and may examine the records and accounts of nursing homes as part of the process. This is to ensure that the State obtains the best value for each individual in a nursing home and to comply with competition law.
In negotiating with nursing homes, the NTPF has regard to:
- costs reasonably and prudently incurred by the nursing home and evidence of value for money,
- price(s) previously charged,
- local market price, and
- budgetary constraints and the obligation on the State to use available resources in the most beneficial, effective and efficient manner to improve, promote and protect the health and welfare of the public.
If negotiations between nursing home proprietors and the NTPF cannot reach agreement there is a three stage review process available.
531. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if family income supplement is taken into consideration when assessing an application for a discretionary medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36620/15]
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.
