Written Answers Nos. 282-304
282. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health why, since the national transfer policy was implemented in the National Ambulance Service in November 2014, full-time permanent vacancies are not being filled as they arise. [4740/16]
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.
283. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health how he will address the fact that the Health Service Executive in Swords in County Dublin is only in a position to offer six hours of speech therapy to children every year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4743/16]
View answerAs this is a service issue, 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 the Executive.
284. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health his views on the funding for Greater Dublin Independent Living with particular reference to having the amount increased to support the excellent work it carries out. [4744/16]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, she can contact my Private Office and they will follow the matter up with the HSE.
285. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health his views on the new drug Orkambi which will be of enormous benefit for cystic fibrosis sufferers. [4745/16]
View answerI am aware that there is a lot of concern and worry among cystic fibrosis (CF) sufferers and parents and families of children who have CF about the current debate on the cost and availability of this medicine. I met with Cystic Fibrosis Ireland on Monday 25th January to discuss the matter.
Orkambi is a combination drug for the treatment of CF in patients with two copies of a specific CF gene mutation. The drug was licensed by the US. Food and Drug Administration in July 2015 and by the European Medicines Agency on the 19th of November 2015. In other words, Orkambi has only been licensed for use in the European Union within the last few months. To date, it has not been approved for reimbursement by any public health service in Europe.
Each country has its own process for approval. The Irish process is laid down in law in the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013. Under this law, the HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicinal products under the community drug schemes in accordance with the provisions of the law. It is appropriate that these should not be political decisions and that a scientific and evidence based approach is taken to determine the extent to which patients would benefit from treatment with expensive new drugs.
Prior to reimbursing any medicine, the HSE considers a range of statutory criteria, including clinical need, cost-effectiveness, and the resources available to the HSE. The process for approval of high-tech new drugs in Ireland involves three steps. The first step involves a Rapid Review, which has been done. The second involves a full Health Technology Assessment by the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE). This expert assessment is scientific and objective and will evaluate whether the claims being made about the benefits of a new drug are valid, and to what extent, in terms of its impact on life expectancy, quality of life, reducing hospital admissions, reduced need for transplants etc. The NCPE will also consider which patient groups might benefit, how the drug compares with existing treatments and if it is cost-effective at the price being quoted by the manufacturer. This usually takes about 90 days. I have requested the NCPE to expedite this part of the process to less than 90 days and the Director has confirmed that he believes this can be achieved.
Once that is done, a recommendation is made to the HSE, which may then engage in price negotiations with the manufacturer. Orkambi's manufacturer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, submitted an application to the HSE on 3 February 2016.
A similar process is carried out in England by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), which does not expect to make a recommendation until July.
The process being followed is the same as that for other CF drugs like Kalydeco, new drugs to treat cancer and other rare diseases. Orkambi will be treated in the same way as these were, and has to be under the law. This process is designed to secure the best value for the HSE, and the savings that accrue from this process can be used to fund other health service developments, for example isolation rooms for CF and cancer patients, better ambulance services, home supports for the elderly and safer maternity services.
I hope that it will be possible for Orkambi to be approved for patients who will benefit from it, and at a fair price, but it must go through the normal approval procedure first, like all other high-tech medicines.
I understand that, in December, an Opposition politician made a claim that there was a vote on funding this drug in the Seanad. This is not correct. The Dáil and Seanad do not vote on whether to fund new medicines.
286. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the options available to a family (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4746/16]
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.
287. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the options available to a family (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4747/16]
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.
288. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Meath will receive an assessment for a device; and, if necessary, when the person will be provided with the device. [4750/16]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy. 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 the matter up with the HSE.
289. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health the current waiting times for occupational therapists to assess homes for the housing adaptation grant in Dublin 7 and in Dublin 15. [4751/16]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, she can contact my Private Office and they will follow the matter up with the HSE.
290. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health the number of community nurses in Dublin 7 and in Dublin 15 and if he will recruit more nurses in the next period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4752/16]
View answerRecruitment of additional nurses and other frontline staff to support service delivery has been a priority for the HSE in the past two years as it has been possible to increase health funding. Consequently, the total number of nurses employed in the public service has increased from 34,300 in January 2014 to 35,521 in January 2016 (WTE's).
I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on the specific issue 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.
291. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health to report on the availability of the tuberculosis BCG vaccine and the measures being taken to ensure it is available to all those who require it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4754/16]
View answerThere is currently a worldwide shortage of BCG vaccine. BCG vaccine has not been available in Ireland since the end of April 2015.
Since this problem became apparent, the HSE National Immunisation Office has been in regular contact with the manufacturer of BCG vaccine to ascertain when the vaccine might be available. The HSE has also asked the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) which licenses and regulates all human medicines in Ireland, to source an alternate supplier of the BCG vaccine. The HPRA has tried continually to find a company who can provide the vaccine for use in Ireland which satisfies all the HPRA requirements on safety and efficacy. To date the HPRA have been unable to find a suitable alternative BCG product. Therefore the HSE has been unable to procure the BCG vaccine from any other source and still awaits the product from the HPRA licensed supplier of the vaccine.
There have been a number of issues that have delayed the production, release and delivery of BCG vaccine in recent months. Consequently, supplies of the vaccine are not expected to be delivered into Ireland until early 2017. When the HSE receives the vaccine, they will arrange appointments for vaccination clinics ensuring that those at high risk are offered vaccination first.
292. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will receive an appointment with an audiologist in the county clinic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4760/16]
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.
293. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health his plans to extend the qualifying illnesses covered under the long-term illness scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4786/16]
View answer343. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Health if he will review the long-term illness scheme to include asthma on the list of illnesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4968/16]
View answer348. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Health his plans to review the long-term illness scheme to include acromegaly on the list of illnesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4997/16]
View answer384. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the consideration he has given to including colitis under the long-term illness scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5188/16]
View answer421. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the reason trigeminal neuralgia type 2 is not included under the long-term illness scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5321/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 293, 343, 348, 384 and 421 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, which 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.
294. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1 of 3 December 2015, the progress following the ongoing negotiations; if he or the Health Service Executive has an indication of the number of rural general practitioners expected to retire in each of the next five years; if he is satisfied with the executive's revisions to the rural general practitioner supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4787/16]
View answerThere has been a positive engagement between the HSE, the Department and the IMO on a set of proposals for enhanced rural GP practice support and an updated list of special items of service. I welcome these proposals, which arise from the current phase of discussions under the on-going framework of engagement between the Department, the HSE and the IMO on the modernisation of the GMS GP contract.
The Department is currently preparing a Statutory Instrument which would give effect to the proposed arrangements. Under the legislation, the Statutory Instrument also requires the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
The proposed rural practice support framework includes a change in the qualifying criteria for rural support and an increase in the financial allowance from €16,216 to €20,000 per annum. At present, 167 GPs benefit from the existing RPA. Under the new arrangements, it is expected that significantly more GPs will benefit from rural practice supports.
The proposed changes to the special items of service aim to encourage more services being provided in the primary care setting. The revised special items include increased rates of payment for suturing and bladder catheterisation, reflecting the costs and time associated with these services; and the introduction of a 24-hour blood pressure monitoring service by GPs.
As the information requested by the Deputy relating to the number of rural General Practitioners expected to retire in each of the next five years is not routinely provided to my Department, I have asked the Health Service Executive to reply directly to the Deputy on this matter. 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.
295. 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. [4796/16]
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 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.
296. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the reason persons (details supplied) in Dublin 5 who are under full care orders are not getting the necessary services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4800/16]
View answerAs this is a service issue this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply. If you have not received a reply within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
297. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health to support the non-rostered paramedics with the National Ambulance Service (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4801/16]
View answerI know that the Director of the National Ambulance Service is fully aware of concerns relating to non-rostered paramedics. However 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.
298. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health to introduce the Fampyra drug especially for multiple sclerosis sufferers (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4802/16]
View answerAs the particular issue raised relates to an individual case, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE for 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.
300. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of an application for respite care by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4808/16]
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.
301. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Health the reason a drug (details supplied) is not approved under the long-term illness scheme for multiple sclerosis sufferers; if the primary care reimbursement section of the Health Service Executive is examining this drug; if he accepts that this drug works very well for some multiple sclerosis sufferers with no resultant relapses for patients using it; and if he will seek a meeting with relevant persons within the Health Service Executive to discuss this drug. [4809/16]
View answerNaltrexone reverses the effects of opioids and is used primarily in the management of alcohol dependence and opioid dependence.
Under European and Irish legislation, before a medicine can be placed on the Irish market, the manufacturer has to seek authorisation from the Health Product Regulatory Authority (HPRA) or in the case of certain medicinal products, the European Medicines Agency.
There is no product currently authorised by the HPRA in Ireland at a range that would be considered as low-dose Naltrexone.
302. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Health the number of cataract operations carried out on public patients in Cork University Hospital in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4811/16]
View answer307. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Health the length of the waiting list for cataract consultations with specialists and cataract operations in Cork University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4827/16]
View answer308. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Health the number of cataract operations for private patients and public patients at Cork University Hospital in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4828/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 302, 307 and 308 together.
As these are service matters, 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.
303. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Health his plans to deal with the current waiting list, particularly for emergency cases for public patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4816/16]
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.
304. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the number of medical cards, the number of general practitioner cards, the number of each type of card issued on a discretionary basis; and the number for each type of card assigned to persons over 70 years of age as of 1 February 2016. [4823/16]
View answerPlease see medical and GP visit card figures in the following table for those aged 70 and over at 1 February 2016, as requested by the Deputy.
|
Card Type |
Total Cards |
|
Medical cards for those 70 and over |
333,115 |
|
of which granted involving discretion |
8,285 |
|
GP Visit cards for those 70 and over |
81,266 |
|
of which granted involving discretion |
50 |
