Written Answers Nos. 364 - 383
364. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health the resources available to the new national rare diseases office in implementing the recommendations contained in the national plan for rare diseases; and the progress made to date. [41193/15]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to a service matter, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy. If he has 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.
365. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Health when a full-time rheumatologist will be appointed to Mayo General Hospital; if the consultant will have a full back-up team; when a rheumatology day infusion ward will be provided at the hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41195/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly. If he has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
366. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if the costs of a replacement denture plate for a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will be covered by a medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41222/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy. If he has 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.
367. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will examine and expedite an application for a medical card by persons (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41260/15]
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.
368. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health the distribution of funds for the emergency department task force; the allocation provided to each public hospital and public residential home; the number of additional beds sustained in each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41282/15]
View answerThe Government committed an additional €25m in Budget 2015 to address delayed discharges. Of this:
- €10m was allocated to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS) to provide an additional 300 places;
- €8m was allocated for the provision of 50 additional short-stay beds, in addition to the establishment and commissioning of Mount Carmel as a short-stay facility for the Dublin area;
- €5m was allocated for an additional 400 Home Care Packages;
- €2m was allocated to strengthen community intervention teams.
In a further initiative earlier this year, the Government approved additional funding of €74m, of which €44m was allocated to the NHSS to provide an additional 1,600 places and reduce the waiting time for approved applicants from a high of 11 weeks to 2-4 weeks. It is intended to maintain this at a maximum of 4 weeks. €30m was used to provide additional transitional care beds (temporary contract beds) through June and additional community, convalescence and district hospital beds on a permanent basis.
In relation to the Deputies query regarding allocation of funding to each public hospital and public residential home and the number of additional beds sustained in each, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly as this is a service matter. If he has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
369. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health the positive impact the suspension of the Health Information and Quality Authority regulations have had on the enhancement of the bed complement for this winter season in regard to Kerry General Hospital in Daingean Uí Chúis, Listowel, Kenmare and Killarney community hospitals and in the St. Columbanus home in Killarney; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41283/15]
View answerThe Government is committed to ensuring that long term residential services for older people meet the 'National Quality Standards for Residential Care for Older People in Ireland (2009)'. The Standards and the associated National Regulations that underpin them encompass issues relevant to the privacy, dignity and respect of residents and seek to support the provision of a physical environment that meets modern day standards and the needs of vulnerable people living in designated services.
The shortage of public capital funds in recent years due to the economic crisis has meant a number of publicly or voluntary provided services have not fully met standard 25 of the national quality standards within the previously state timeframe of 1 July 2015.
The Government's recently published Capital Plan, Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021, commits to a major multi-annual programme of capital investment in public and voluntary provided social care facilities. A total of €200 million in Exchequer funding has been made available for Services for Older People together with further potential to develop projects through Public Private Partnerships.
As a result it is now possible to set a revised policy and timeframe for ensuring that all public and voluntary services which are currently non-compliant demonstrate to HIQA that they will achieve the relevant national standards by the end of the Capital Plan Period in 2021.
In the coming weeks the HSE will submit to HIQA its plans, focused at individual service level, to meet the requirements of Standard 25. These individual plans will be in line with the revised policy timeframe, and will detail proposed capital expenditure at each individual centre level. The HSE will also support relevant voluntary providers with which it has service level agreements in submitting individual plans.
This decision was absolutely necessary to ensure that older people continue to have access to the services they need at a vulnerable stage in their lives. To impose a compliance timeline that was unachievable would have led to facilities closing across the length of the country, with others reducing their bed numbers. Older people and others who need these services, and their families, would not thank us if we allowed this to happen.
The Deputy's question refers to specific hospitals in Kerry. I have therefore referred it to the Executive for direct reply in relation to those facilities. If the Deputy has not received a reply within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
370. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Health his views on the decision to extend the time period for nursing homes run by the Health Service Executive to meet the regulations; if he understands this to be an inequality of standards, challenging the position of the Health Information and Quality Authority as an independent regulator; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41294/15]
View answerThe Government is committed to ensuring that long term residential services for older people meet the 'National Quality Standards for Residential Care for Older People in Ireland (2009)'. The Standards and the associated National Regulations that underpin them encompass issues relevant to the privacy, dignity and respect of residents and seek to support the provision of a physical environment that meets modern day standards and the needs of vulnerable people living in designated services.
The shortage of public capital funds in recent years due to the economic crisis has meant a number of publicly or voluntary provided services have not fully met standard 25 of the national quality standards within the previously state timeframe of 1 July 2015.
The Government's recently published Capital Plan, Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021, commits to a major multi-annual programme of capital investment in public and voluntary provided social care facilities. A total of €200 million in Exchequer funding has been made available for Services for Older People together with further potential to develop projects through Public Private Partnerships.
As a result it is now possible to set revised policy and timeframe for ensuring that all public and voluntary services which are currently non-compliant demonstrate to HIQA that they will achieve the relevant national standard by the end of the Capital Plan Period in 2021.
In the coming weeks the HSE will submit to HIQA its plans, focused at individual service level, to meet the requirements of Standard 25. These individual plans will be in line with the revised policy time-frame, and will detail proposed capital expenditure at each individual centre level. The HSE will also support relevant voluntary providers with which it has service level agreements in submitting individual plans.
This decision was absolutely necessary to ensure that older people continue to have access to the services they need at a vulnerable stage in their lives. To impose a compliance time-line that was unachievable would have led to facilities closing across the length of the country, with others reducing their bed numbers. Older people and others who need these services, and their families, would not thank us if we allowed this to happen.
371. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41295/15]
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 the Deputy directly. If he has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
372. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Health if dentists will be recruited for the Health Service Executive child dental services in County Cork and County Kerry in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41300/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy. If he has 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.
373. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Health his plans to include auto-immune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis as symptoms which qualify for acceptance under the long-term illness scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41301/15]
View answer379. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Health the reason rheumatoid arthritis is not considered a long-term illness; if there are plans to include it in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41343/15]
View answer429. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Health when asthma will be included in the long-term illness scheme given the number of persons suffering with asthma; the costs incurred for treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41761/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 373, 379 and 429 together.
The 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. The conditions covered by the LTI Scheme 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. There are no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the LTI Scheme.
Under the Drug Payment Scheme, no individual or family pays more than €144 per calendar month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines. The scheme significantly reduces the cost burden for families and individuals incurring ongoing expenditure on medicines.
Under the provisions of the Health Acts, medical cards are provided to persons who are, in the opinion of the Health Service Executive (HSE), unable without undue hardship to arrange GP services for themselves and their dependants. In the assessment process, the HSE can take into account medical costs incurred by an individual or a family.
374. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the number of colonoscopies that have been carried out in public hospitals over the past 12 months, by hospital and in tabular form; the number of patients on waiting lists for colonoscopies in public hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41302/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly. If he has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
375. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for Health the status of the primary care centre for Balbriggan in County Dublin; when it will open; when it will hire employees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41305/15]
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 he has 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.
376. Deputy John Perry asked the Minister for Health the status of a medical card for a person (details supplied) in County Sligo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41306/15]
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.
377. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in County Dublin with an intellectual disability is not receiving the appropriate service with St. Michael's House; his views on correspondence regarding this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41311/15]
View answerAs the issue raised by the Deputy relates to an individual case, this is a service matter for the Health Service Executive. I have asked the HSE to look into the particular matter raised and to reply directly to the Deputy. If he has 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.
378. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 440 of 12 May 2015, the mechanism the Health Service Executive has in place to allow the person in question to state serious grievances against the treatment received while in its care; if he will direct the executive to allow this person to meet suitable persons to seek answers to questions and review the recordings this person has as evidence of mistreatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41331/15]
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 response within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
380. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Health his plans to prescribe the title "physical therapist" as a variant of the specified title of "physiotherapist" in one register in relation to the Health and Social Care Professional Act 2005; his plans to regularise the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41355/15]
View answer384. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Health his plans to protect the titles of "physiotherapist" and "physical therapist" (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41382/15]
View answer437. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will protect the titles of "physiotherapist" and "physical therapist" as the level of service physiotherapists and physical therapists provide is completely different (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41820/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 380, 384 and 437 together.
I expect that the Physiotherapists Registration Board will soon make the necessary by-laws under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 to allow it to establish its register early next year. On this basis, the title of physiotherapist will be protected for the exclusive use of the board's registrants when the register's 2 year transitional period ends in 2018.
I am currently examining the issue of also protecting the title of physical therapist under the Act. In other English speaking countries, the title of physical therapist is often used by physiotherapists. In Ireland, however, the title is used by a number of practitioners who are not physiotherapists but who are competing with physiotherapists in the private sector in the provision of musculoskeletal therapies.
Earlier this year, having consulted with the Health and Social Care Professionals Council, I wrote to a number of relevant organisations regarding my proposal to protect the title of physical therapist as a variant of the title of physiotherapist and invited them to submit their views. The submissions are now being examined and I expect that I will make a decision on the matter before the end of the year. As the Deputy can appreciate there are many factors to consider. However, I can assure the House that my main concern will be to protect the public when it comes to decisions on this matter.
381. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will be provided with medical records, as requested; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41356/15]
View answerAccess to medical records of deceased people is covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2014.
Therefore, to request access to such medical records, the person concerned should make a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2014. The relevant contact details are set out below:
Sinead Kelleher
Senior Manager
National Complaints Governance & Learning Team
National Quality Assurance and Verification Division
Health Service Executive
31/33 Catherine Street
Limerick. Tel: 061 483272.
E-mail: sinead.kelleher@hse.ie.
382. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Health the status of occupational therapy resources being provided to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41357/15]
View answerAs this is a service issue, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy. If she has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with the Executive.
383. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if the Health Service Executive charges staff, either permanent or agency staff, a fee to park a vehicle on hospital grounds when working in either public or voluntary hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41380/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly. If he has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
