Written Answers Nos. 355-370
359. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health what measures hospitals take to ensure that foreign matter is not left in a patient’s body following surgery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2118/16]
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.
360. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health the number of children who were dropped by staff in Temple Street Hospital in County Dublin in 1996; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2119/16]
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.
361. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Health the number of children who were dropped by staff in hospitals between 2010 and 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2120/16]
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.
362. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Health why a person (details supplied) in County Dublin has been waiting more than eight months to see a consultant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2157/16]
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.
363. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Health why there was no replacement for the Parkinson's nurse at the Parkinson's clinic in St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin 4; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2158/16]
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.
364. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will urgently examine an application for a medical card by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry, given that the person has submitted all relevant information; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2173/16]
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.
365. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will receive an appointment for a test in relation to a condition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2182/16]
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.
366. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Health the up to date position regarding the provision of a primary care health centre for the Knocknacarra area of Galway city which was listed as a priority eight years ago; if a site has been identified; when the necessary planning permission will be sought; if the centre will be delivered as a priority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2187/16]
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.
367. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will have assessments carried out. [2189/16]
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 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.
368. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Health if additional resources will be provided to Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital Dublin to facilitate persons on the waiting list for a hip operation for 15 months; the plans in place to reduce the waiting list and have those who are waiting over three months dealt with as urgently as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2197/16]
View answerThe latest National Treatment Purchase Find (NTPF) published waiting list data shows that clear progress has been made to reduce the numbers of patients overall on waiting lists by end December 2015. These figures continue to show the positive trend which was seen in November 2015, with improvements across all waiting list categories.
This has been facilitated by the establishment in January 2015 of maximum permissible waiting times for inpatient / day case treatment and outpatient appointments of 18 months by 30 June and 15 months by year end. Also in 2015, the HSE was provided with additional funding to maximise capacity across the public and voluntary hospitals or to fund outsourcing activity, so that patients’ needs could be met within the maximum allowable waiting times.
NTPF figures indicate that Cappagh Hospital has achieved the HSE inpatient waiting list target times and, as a result, there are no patients are waiting longer that 15 months for a hip operation.
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.
369. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of playroom assistants in the Cashel ward in Kerry General Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2211/16]
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.
370. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of physiotherapists (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2216/16]
View answerThe Physiotherapists Registration Board will soon make the necessary bye-laws under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 to allow it to establish its register. The title of physiotherapist will, as a consequence, 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 the rest of the English speaking world the titles of physical therapist and physiotherapist are interchangeable and their users are qualified 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.
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 shortly that ensures public protection and appropriately addresses the legitimate concerns of all parties.
