Joe Carey
Question:113. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Health when a medical procedure for a person (details supplied) in County Clare will take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36684/15]
View answerHospital Appointments Status
Questions (113)
Written answers
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 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.
Mobility Allowance Review
Questions (114)
Ciara Conway
Question:114. Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for Health the progress made to date on the replacement schemes for the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant which was discontinued in February 2013; the options that are being considered, together with a clear timeframe as to when the matter will be decided upon, and when the replacement will be up and running; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36689/15]
View answerWritten answers
The Government decided that the detailed preparatory work required for a new Transport Support Scheme and associated statutory provisions should be progressed by the Minister for Health. 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.
Work is ongoing on the policy proposals to be brought to Government for the drafting of primary legislation for a new scheme. These proposals seek to ensure that:
- There is a firm statutory basis to the Scheme's operation;
- There is transparency and equity in the eligibility criteria attaching to the Scheme;
- Resources are targeted at those with the greatest needs;
- The Scheme is capable of being costed and it is affordable on its introduction and on an ongoing basis.
Payments of up to €208.50 per month are continuing to be made by the Health Service Executive to 4,700 people who were in receipt of the Mobility Allowance at the time the scheme closed, in February 2013. Any proposals put to Government will seek to take account of this group.
Heads of Bill have now been developed in draft form and are currently subject to detailed legal examination. The approval of a General Scheme and Heads of Bill by the Government will be followed by publication and pre-legislative scrutiny by the Oireachtas Health and Children Committee. The Health (Transport Support) Bill is included in the Government Legislation Programme.
Vaccination Programme
Questions (115)
Terence Flanagan
Question:115. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding vaccinations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36697/15]
View answerWritten answers
The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). NIAC is a committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland comprising experts in a number of specialties including infectious diseases, paediatrics and public health. The committee's recommendations are informed by public health advice and international best practice.
A vaccine against MenC is given to children at 4 months and 13 months of age as part of the Primary Childhood Immunisation Schedule. A booster dose is given to children in 1st year of second level school to protect against meningococcal C disease until early adulthood.
NIAC recommends the inclusion of Meningococcal B vaccine in the primary immunisation programme, if the vaccine can be made available at a cost-effective price. I have asked the HSE to engage with the manufacturer with a view to establishing whether a cost effective and sustainable price is achievable in Ireland without prejudice to the ultimate decision on whether the vaccine should be introduced or not.
NIAC has issued guidance in relation to the use of the Meningococcal B vaccine in the control of clusters or outbreaks of the disease. The vaccine has been used in accordance with the NIAC guidance, along with other measures, to control outbreaks of the disease.
Immunisation policy is based on providing a safe, sustainable and cost-effective programme of immunisation. The introduction of any new vaccine into the primary childhood immunisation schedule will be considered in the context of recommendations from NIAC, the outcome of cost-effective analysis, the conclusions of the review of HSE vaccination services currently being carried out, and resource availability.
Traveller Community
Questions (116)
Ruth Coppinger
Question:116. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health if his Department has conducted an analysis recently on the life expectancy of members of the Traveller community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36701/15]
View answerWritten answers
The most recent analysis of life expectancy among Travellers was the All Ireland Traveller Health Study (AITHS) which was carried out in 2007 and the findings published in September 2010 with a follow up Birth Cohort Study published in September 2011. This was a comprehensive study of the health and social status of the Traveller community in Ireland and was carried out by the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science, University College Dublin on behalf of Travellers, with the direct involvement of Travellers. The key findings of the study were that Travellers experienced higher levels of morbidity and mortality. Life expectancy at birth for Travellers compared with the general population was 15.1 years lower for Traveller men and 11.5 years lower for Traveller women. Compared with the previous study carried out in 1987 there was an improvement of 4.8 years for Traveller women, however there had been no change among Traveller men.
Both Travellers and health service providers interviewed during the course of the All Ireland Study acknowledged that Social Determinants are a major cause of the poor health status of Travellers. Aspects of accommodation, education, employment, poverty, discrimination, lifestyle and access and utilisation of services were cited as key sociodeterminants in this regard.
Healthy Ireland is the National Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing. A key goal of this framework is to reduce health inequalities. This is particularly relevant in relation to the health outcomes for the Traveller community as it seeks to address the social determinants of health and wellbeing.
My Department is also represented on cross government structures such as the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy Steering Group which was established earlier this year following a review of existing Traveller and Roma consultation structures by the Department of Justice and Equality.
Counselling Services Provision
Questions (117)
Ruth Coppinger
Question:117. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health the measures he will take to ensure that counselling and psychotherapy services are accessible and affordable to all who need to avail of them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36702/15]
View answerWritten answers
Counselling is provided across the health service, by both the HSE and the voluntary sector including primary care, social care and within mental health. This type of service can be provided by a range of trained health professionals and delivered to meet a clinical need at either primary or secondary care level.
The Counselling in Primary Care (CIPC) service is a national service for medical card holders and is funded from the Programme for Government investment in Mental Health, to increase the access to counselling and psychotherapy and supplementing existing services provided by Primary Care. It is a short term counselling service that provides up to 8 counselling sessions with a professionally qualified and accredited Counsellor or Therapist.
Within the specialist secondary care mental health service counselling and psychotherapy is provided within community mental health teams when service users are clinically assessed as requiring this intervention and is provided by a health professional on the team. Counselling is also provided by a range of voluntary organisations across the health service and HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention funds voluntary organisations such as Pieta House and Console to provide support across a range of needs.
The provision of a quality counselling service across both primary and secondary care will be developed further, as resources permit. In the first instance however, the HSE Mental Health Division must ensure that the funding currently allocated to CIPC is being used to best effect, to deliver the best outcomes. In this regard, I note the commitment in the HSE National Service Plan for 2015 to “Reviewing and improving access to psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic interventions in conjunction with the Primary Care Division” as a first step to further consolidate and direct counselling services generally.