Michael Healy-Rae
Question:215. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18971/16]
View answerHospital Appointments Status
Questions (215)
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 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 Accommodation Provision
Questions (216)
Michael Healy-Rae
Question:216. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of providing a hospital bed for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18979/16]
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 HSE, 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.
Hospital Appointments Status
Questions (217)
Pat Deering
Question:217. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Health the status of a person (details supplied) on a waiting list. [18998/16]
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.
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.
Medical Card Applications
Questions (218)
Michael Healy-Rae
Question:218. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the medical card scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19000/16]
View answerWritten answers
The 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 recently 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.
HSE Funding
Questions (219)
Mattie McGrath
Question:219. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the registered charities the Health Service Executive supports and the funding it has allocated to them in each of the years 2015 and 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19001/16]
View answerWritten answers
Your question 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 my officials will follow the matter up.
Cross-Border Health Services Provision
Questions (220)
Mattie McGrath
Question:220. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the measures he proposes to put in place to offset the challenges which Irish health care patients who had planned to travel to the United Kingdom under the European Union cross-border directive will now face, given the recent European Union referendum there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19002/16]
View answerWritten answers
The EU Directive 2011/24/EU on Patients’ Rights in Cross Border Healthcare aims to ensure EU citizens may access safe and good quality healthcare services across EU borders. The Directive establishes a framework for cross border healthcare between EU/EEA states to facilitate patients to access care in another Member State in accordance with their entitlements in their own country. Under the Directive, known as the Cross Border Healthcare Directive (CBD), insured patients are entitled to have the costs of cross-border healthcare services reimbursed if the healthcare service in question is among the benefits to which they are entitled in their Member State of affiliation. As such, it allows Irish residents to avail of healthcare in other EU or EEA (excluding Switzerland) Member States that they would be entitled to within the public health system in Ireland, which is not contrary to Irish legislation.
The result of the recent EU Referendum in the UK means that the UK electorate have declared their wish to leave the EU. It is important to be clear that the UK has not yet left the EU. Until it formally withdraws from the Union, it remains a full Member, with all of its existing rights and obligations.
I wish to assure the Deputy that there will be no immediate changes in the area of health as a consequence of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. Cross-border services and health cooperation between the UK and Ireland will not be affected in the immediate term. Arrangements are in place, building on an already completed initial risk assessment plan, to consider any longer-term implications of the referendum result. Irish patients who had planned to travel to the UK under the CBD in the near future may continue to do as planned.
The terms of a British exit from the EU are unknown at this stage. It is expected to take a minimum of two years of negotiations between all EU member states, including Ireland, to agree a new arrangement between the UK and the EU, and the Department of Health will be fully involved in these negotiations. Ensuring that there is minimum disruption in the area of health and that essential services are maintained will be our key priority.
Hospital Consultant Recruitment
Questions (221)
Billy Kelleher
Question:221. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the cost of recruiting and employing an additional 100 full-time hospital consultants in 2017; and his estimate of ancillary costs involved. [19032/16]
View answerWritten answers
I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly 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.
Home Help Service Provision
Questions (222, 223)
Billy Kelleher
Question:222. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the cost in 2017 of providing an additional one million home help hours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19033/16]
View answerBilly Kelleher
Question:223. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the cost in 2017 of providing an additional 2,000 home care packages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19034/16]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 222 and 223 together.
As these are service matters they have 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.
Disability Services Provision
Questions (224)
Billy Kelleher
Question:224. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the cost in 2017 of providing an additional 500,000 personal assistant hours for persons with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19035/16]
View answerWritten answers
The Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities which will empower them to live independent lives, provide greater independence in accessing the services they choose and enhance their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their needs and plan their lives. This commitment is outlined in the Programme for Partnership Government, which is guided by two principles: equality of opportunity and improving the quality of life for people with disabilities.
In the 2016 National Service Plan, the Health Service Executive's priority is to protect the level of services provided in 2015 and to provide 1.3 million hours of Personal Assistant services at a cost of approximately €30 million and 2.6 million hours of home support at a cost of €52 million, to over 2,000 adults with a disability.
As the Deputy's question regarding the cost of increasing Personal Assistant hours relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the 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.
Care of the Elderly Provision
Questions (225)
Billy Kelleher
Question:225. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the cost in 2017 of providing an additional 200 intensive home care packages for persons with dementia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19036/16]
View answerWritten answers
As 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.
Medical Card Expenditure
Questions (226)
Billy Kelleher
Question:226. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the cost in 2017 of providing a medical card for all children in receipt of the domiciliary care allowance. [19037/16]
View answerWritten answers
Under the provisions of the Health Acts, medical cards are provided to persons who are, in the opinion of the 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. Where deemed appropriate in particular circumstances, the HSE may exercise discretion and grant a medical card even though an applicant's means exceed the prescribed threshold. Where a person does not qualify for a medical card, they may be provided with a GP Visit Card, appropriate therapy or other community supports or drugs.
The Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) payment is made by the Minister for Social Protection to carers in respect of a child at home under 16 years of age with a severe disability, where it has been determined that the child requires ongoing care and attention, substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age.
The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government includes the provision of a medical card to all children in receipt of the Domiciliary Care Allowance. This is a matter which I intend to consider in the context of the implementation of the Health commitments in the Programme for 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 in each case.