Written Answers Nos. 184 - 190
184. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Health his projections of the impact of the recently introduced health service recruitment bar on increased waiting list times for the care of type 1 and type 2 diabetes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13950/16]
View answerArising from Budget 2015, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform announced an easing of restrictions on the employment of additional staff. Submission of a Pay and Numbers Strategy, outlining planned staffing levels and pay/pensions expenditure was required to obtain sanction for the lifting of the moratorium and Employment Control Framework arrangements.
The HSE are currently working with my Department on the preparation of their 2016 Pay and Numbers Strategy. This has involved the development of ‘bottom up’ workforce plans at hospital and community service level. While these plans are being developed, interim recruitment measures have been put in place by the HSE, which require that pay budgets are complied with.
These measures do not impact on a hospital’s ability to recruit where funding exists to facilitate that recruitment; for example in the case of replacement posts or where funding has been allocated for particular roles under the HSE service plan. Recruitment can also take place in areas of critical care and emergency services.
Improving waiting times for scheduled care for patients is a key priority for the Minister of Health and for Government. In 2015, the HSE was provided with additional funding to ensure that maximum waiting times of 18 months by 30 June 2015 and 15 months by year end would be achieved for inpatient and day case treatment and outpatient appointments. By maximising capacity across public and voluntary hospitals, as well as outsourcing activity where the capacity was unavailable to meet patient needs, HSE figures for end Dec 2015 showed 95% achievement for In-patient and Day Case waiting lists and 93% for outpatient waiting lists, against the 15 months maximum wait times.
At the end of April there were around 400,000 patients on the outpatient waiting list and 74,000 on the inpatient/day case list. Over 60% of patients on waiting lists wait less than 6 months for their required care and 94% are waiting less than the maximum waiting time of 15 months. The fact that the majority of people on waiting lists (over 60%) are waiting less than 6 months indicates that there is a consistent high demand for healthcare.
My Department will continue to work with the HSE to ensure that the service needs and waiting times in this area will be addressed, having regard to the overall level of resources available to the HSE.
185. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Health how long the Health Service Executive's recruitment bar will last; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13951/16]
View answerArising from Budget 2015, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform announced an easing of restrictions on the employment of additional staff. Submission of a Pay and Numbers Strategy, outlining planned staffing levels and pay/pensions expenditure was required to obtain sanction for the lifting of the moratorium and Employment Control Framework arrangements.
This change allows for greater autonomy to be delegated to Departments and Agencies to manage their own staffing levels within allocated pay frameworks. It also provides for further recruitment flexibility, for example where it is determined that offering permanent contracts can achieve more economical service delivery than agency usage.
The HSE are currently working with my Department on the preparation of their 2016 Pay and Numbers Strategy. This has involved the development of ‘bottom up’ workforce plans at hospital and community service level. While these plans are being developed, interim recruitment measures have been put in place by the HSE, which require that pay budgets are complied with.
These measures do not impact on a hospital’s ability to recruit where funding exists to facilitate that recruitment; for example in the case of replacement posts or where funding has been allocated for particular roles under the HSE service plan. Recruitment can also take place in areas of critical care and emergency services.
186. Deputy Hildegarde Naughton asked the Minister for Health the reason it took three months for a person (details supplied) to receive a notification of an appointment to see a consultant dermatologist; the reason that person will not be seen until August 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13952/16]
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 the Deputy 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.
187. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if he is concerned that the bacillus Calmette-Guérin injection will not be available until 2017; his efforts to source the drug outside the European Union; if the Health Service Executive will reverse the policy of no longer adding new babies to waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13953/16]
View answerThere is currently a worldwide shortage of BCG vaccine. In 2015 the United Nations Children's Funds (UNICEF) estimated a worldwide shortage of 65 million doses of BCG. The vaccine has not been available in Ireland since the end of April 2015. Consequently, BCG vaccination clinics in HSE Clinics and Maternity hospitals have been postponed until new stock arrives.
There is only one licensed supplier of BCG vaccine to Ireland and to other countries within the EU. 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. Efforts have been made 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 no suitable alternative BCG product has been found. 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.
The supplier has indicated that supplies of the vaccine are not expected to be delivered into Ireland until early 2017. When there is confirmation of the date of new supply a decision will be made, guided by the recommendations of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, on who should be prioritised to receive the vaccine.
188. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Health the status of the future of Kilcreene orthopaedic hospital in Kilkenny, particularly the works converting St. Patrick's ward to office space; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13954/16]
View answerIn relation to the specific query raised by the Deputy, 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.
189. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if and when he will issue a much required medical device to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13955/16]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy. If the Deputy 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.
190. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health the savings from a reduction in the cost of branded medicines to the average European Union level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13961/16]
View answerIt is not feasible to provide a robust estimate of savings from a reduction in the price of branded medicines to the average European Union level, as the price of each branded medicine would need to be assessed and compared with pricing data from all of the other member states. In addition, I would draw the Deputy's attention to the Joint Committee on Health and Children Report on the Cost of Prescription Drugs in Ireland published in October 2015 and in particular their view that consideration should be given as to whether the average price is the most cost-effective option in setting drug prices in Ireland.
