Robert Troy
Question:942. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health to expedite a date for surgery for a person (details supplied) [10660/16]
View answerHospital Waiting Lists
Questions (942)
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 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.
Primary Care Centres
Questions (943)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:943. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the proposed location of the 80 additional primary care centres, as per the programme for Government, in view of the fact that funding has been secured for same; the stage of development and commencement of these projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10672/16]
View answerWritten answers
The development of primary care remains central to the Government’s objective to deliver a high-quality, integrated and cost-effective health care system. The policy is to enable people to easily access a broad spectrum of services in the community, through their local Primary Care Team. The development of Primary Care Centres, through a combination of public and private investment, will facilitate the delivery of multi-disciplinary services capable of meeting the great majority of people’s healthcare needs, in the most appropriate and economic setting.
The HSE has responsibility for the provision and operation of Primary Care Centres. Therefore, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this issue. 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.
Question No. 944 answered with Question No. 844.
Drugs Payment Scheme
Questions (945, 946)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:945. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the amount the annual required co-payment on the drugs payment scheme will be reduced, as per the programme for Government; the cost of doing same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10674/16]
View answerLouise O'Reilly
Question:946. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the amount the prescription charges for medical card holders will be reduced, as per the programme for Government; the cost of doing same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10675/16]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 945 and 946 together.
These are matters which I intend to consider in the context of the implementation of the health commitments in the Programme for Partnership Government and having regard to the funding available to facilitate such measures. Detailed financial analysis will be required in order to establish as accurately as possible the expected costs to the Exchequer.
Home Care Packages Funding
Questions (947)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:947. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the amount the funding for home care packages and home help will be increased every year, as per the programme for Government; the cost of doing same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10676/16]
View answerWritten answers
The Home Help service is provided to assist older people to live independently in their own homes. The service is focused primarily on providing a range of personal care supports, following an individual assessment of needs. The HSE also provides enhanced home care services through the Home Care Packages (HCP) scheme for persons whose needs cannot be met by the mainstream Home Help service due to the extent of their assessed needs and/or the times and days that services are required. With a Budget of €324 million in 2016 the HSE’s projected target, set out in its National Service Plan, is to deliver:
- 10.4 million Home Help Hours to about 47,800 people at any one time
- 15,450 people will be in receipt of a HCP at any one time
- 130 Intensive HCPs for clients with complex needs (A further 60 clients with dementia will be supported by funding provided by Atlantic Philanthropies).
The Programme for Government commits to increasing funding for Home Care Packages and Home Help every year. The planning and management of future health expenditure will be considered as part of the annual estimates and budgetary process which seeks to balance available funding across all of the various service areas to achieve the best possible outcomes for the greatest number of service users and prioritise areas of greatest need.
General Practitioner Contracts
Questions (948)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:948. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the progress being made to date in negotiating a contract with general practitioners, as per the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10677/16]
View answerWritten answers
Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the Health Service Executive, the Department of Health and the Irish Medical Organisation in February 2015, the parties commenced talks on a new GP contract. A priority of these discussions is the inclusion of chronic disease management for patients. As a first step in this process, agreement was reached on the introduction of a Diabetes Cycle of Care for adult patients with Type 2 Diabetes who hold a medical card or GP visit card. This service commenced on 1 October 2015.
Rural practice was also prioritised as part of the ongoing discussions between the parties. A set of proposals concerning (i) supports for rural GP practices and (ii) special items of service was agreed between the IMO, the HSE and the Department. The Regulations providing for the introduction of the new Rural Practice Support Framework, which were signed on 5 May, 2016, include a change in the qualifying criteria for rural support and an increase in the financial allowance from €16,216 to €20,000 per annum. Further tranches of negotiations will be held to address other aspects of a new GP contract.
Question No. 949 answered with Question No. 844.
General Practitioner Training
Questions (950)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:950. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the cost of increasing the availability of medical education tutors for continuing professional development, as per the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10679/16]
View answerWritten answers
I understand that the Deputy is referring to medical education tutors for GP training. As the training of GPs is currently a matter for the Health Service Executive, the question has been 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.
Medical Card Administration
Questions (951)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:951. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health when he will request the clinical advisory group on medical cards to examine the guidelines for the awarding of discretionary medical cards for patients undergoing treatment for cancer, as per the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10680/16]
View answerWritten answers
I understand that the Clinical Advisory Group is working on the development of a framework for assessment and measurement of the burden of disease and appropriate operational guidelines for the medical card scheme. I look forward to the Group's report to the Director General of the HSE on the matter.
I recognise the importance of having a medical card scheme that is more sensitive to people’s needs, especially arrangements relating to the issuing of medical cards on a discretionary basis.
Vaccination Programme
Questions (952)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:952. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the cost of extending the childhood vaccination programme to include meningitis B and rotavirus vaccines, as per the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10681/16]
View answerWritten answers
The HSE National Service Plan provides for additional funding of €2.5 million for the addition of meningitis B and rotavirus, along with associated changes, to the childhood immunisation programmes. Requirements for 2017 and subsequent years will be finalised as part of the HSE service planning process.
Cancer Screening Programmes
Questions (953)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:953. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the cost of extending BreastCheck to all women aged 65 to 69 years of age, as per the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10682/16]
View answerWritten answers
The HSE National Service Plan 2016 provides €1.5 million towards the cost of extending the BreastCheck screening programme to women aged 65 to 69 years.
The BreastCheck extension is being implemented on a phased basis up to 2021. When fully rolled out the annual cost of the age extension is likely to be in the region of €5 million. The extension will increase the eligible population by approximately 100,000 to 540,000 women.
Question No. 954 answered with Question No. 812.
Mental Health Services Funding
Questions (955)
Noel Rock
Question:955. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Health his plans to ring-fence the budget for mental health services and to reverse recent cuts made to it. [10688/16]
View answerWritten answers
Funding for mental health services will increase this year, no matter what developments take place during 2016. Funding for mental health in 2016 will increase from the 2015 outturn of €785 million, to a projected budget of €826 million in the 2016 NSP, an increase of €41 million or 5.2% which includes the €35 million ring fenced for mental health. In 2016, it is proposed to advance the NSP 2016 development priorities from additional funding, including: continued development of counselling services across both primary and secondary care including the provision of three new Jigsaw mental health services in Cork, Dublin city centre and Limerick; the continued development of Community Mental Health teams; improved 24/7 response and Liaison Services; Psychiatry of Later Life; Perinatal Mental Health, and two new mental health clinical programmes, specifically ADHD in Adults and Children, and Dual Diagnosis of those with Mental Illness and Substance Misuse.
Some of the proposals for the €35 million in 2016 involve the recruitment of extra staff for new service developments. As staff recruitment takes time, the Service Plan provides that time-related savings of approximately €12 million from this and would be used, on a once-off basis, to maintain services in home care and transitional care beds, and for vaccine procurement. As the initiatives planned for mental health and the other areas identified in the Service Plan are approved, arrangements will be made for the release of funding, having regard to the overall Service Plan requirements.
In line with the provisions of the Service Plan which was agreed and published last December, additional funding for specific initiatives in mental health will be allocated as specific implementation plans are agreed. The Department of Health is examining detailed proposals from the HSE for the redevelopment monies.
Home Care Packages Data
Questions (956)
Noel Rock
Question:956. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Health the number of persons waiting in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, for home care packages. [10690/16]
View answerWritten answers
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.
Hospital Appointments Administration
Questions (957)
Pat Deering
Question:957. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) who had an illness in 2015 will be called for an magnetic resonance imaging scan in University Hospital Waterford. [10692/16]
View answerWritten 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.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Questions (958)
Pat Deering
Question:958. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will be called for surgery [10693/16]
View answerWritten 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 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.
HSE National Service Plan
Questions (959)
Pat Deering
Question:959. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Health the status of the provision of a new facility to replace an outdated facility (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10699/16]
View answerWritten answers
As 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.
Young Farmers Scheme
Questions (960)
Charlie McConalogue
Question:960. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an appeal under the 2015 national reserve scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9807/16]
View answerWritten answers
The person named submitted applications under the ‘young farmer’ category of the 2015 National Reserve and the Young Farmers Scheme to my Department. The applications were not successful as the person named was deemed to have commenced farming in 2001, making him ineligible for both schemes. The person named was notified of this decision and was offered the opportunity to submit an appeal. My Department has received an appeal from the person named in relation to his National Reserve and Young Farmers Scheme applications. This appeal will be considered by my Department based on the information set out by the applicant and a decision with regard to the outcome of the appeal will be notified in writing to him as soon as possible.
GLAS Appeals
Questions (961)
Seán Canney
Question:961. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of appeals under the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme including the number of appeals in the system, the average waiting time for a decision and when the current round of appeals will be concluded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9837/16]
View answerWritten answers
In excess of 40,000 GLAS applications were received by my Department in 2015 and some 38,000 farmers have been approved into the scheme. 122 appeals to the Department, requesting a review of a decision made, have been received in relation to GLAS 1 and replies have issued in all cases. 424 such requests were received in relation to GLAS 2 and all but 4 cases have been replied to, these are currently being reviewed and decisions will issue shortly.
The Department has been notified by the Agriculture Appeals Office of 30 GLAS appeals submitted to that office. In accordance with agreed procedures and timeframes 25 responses to the Agriculture Appeals Office have issued. The 5 cases on hand are currently being reviewed. The timeframe within which these appeals will be determined is a matter for the independent Agriculture Appeals Office.