Written Answers Nos. 484-499
484. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health to extend the opening hours at Shannondoc, St. Mary's Medical Centre, Thurles, County Tipperary, as the current opening hours are not adequate to service the needs of persons in the Thurles area if they need to meet with a general practitioner following a phone consultation with the nurse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20480/16]
View answerAs this is a service matter, this question 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.
485. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that a person (details supplied) is waiting on an appointment to see an occupational therapist for over six months; the action being taken to alleviate these waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20492/16]
View answerAs this is a service issue, this question 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.
486. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of an application by a person (details supplied) for a medical device; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20506/16]
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.
487. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the implementation of the free GP care to all children under the age of six scheme; if any impact analysis has been carried out to assess the challenges arising from the scheme; the numbers of contracts awarded for the provision of free GP care to all children under the age of six; the number of children who have availed of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20536/16]
View answerThere have been significant developments in the general practice service recently, with more services being made available to our citizens and additional support provided by the HSE. Under a Framework Agreement, signed in 2014, the HSE, the Department of Health, and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) are currently engaged in a comprehensive review of the General Medical Services (GMS) and other publicly funded health sector contracts involving GPs.
As part of this process, the first two phases of universal GP care without fees were successfully introduced in 2015, firstly, for children under the age of 6 years and, secondly, for all people aged 70 years and over. This has resulted in approximately 800,000 people now being eligible for GP care without fees, without having to undergo a means test. The under-6s GP service contract includes age-based preventive checks focused on health and well-being and a cycle of care for children with asthma.
I have recently met with GP representative bodies to discuss the future development of general practice and I have assured them of the Government's commitment to developing primary healthcare services for all our citizens and the key role of general practice in that context. In order to ensure that the potential benefits of an enhanced integrated primary healthcare sector can be realised and supported by a new contract for general practice services, I am currently considering a number of options around this process, including the possibility of broader consultations with stakeholders.
GPs do not currently provide information to the HSE in relation to patient visit activity, waiting times etc. In the absence of such general practice activity data, it is not possible to provide any further information requested by the Deputy in relation to the introduction of free GP care to children under 6 years.
In relation to the Deputy's request for information on the number of contracts awarded to GPs for the provision of services to children under 6 years and the number of children who have availed of the service, these queries have been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy as they relate to service matters. 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.
488. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health his proposals to negotiate a new general practitioner contract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20537/16]
View answerThere have been significant developments in the general practice service recently, with more services being made available to our citizens and additional support provided by the HSE. Under a Framework Agreement, signed in 2014, the HSE, the Department of Health, and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) are currently engaged in a comprehensive review of the General Medical Services (GMS) and other publicly funded health sector contracts involving GPs.
As a first step in this process, universal GP care without fees for all children under the age of 6 years was successfully introduced in 2015. Shortly afterwards, the second phase implemented universal GP care without fees for all people aged 70 years and over. This has resulted in approximately 800,000 people now being eligible for GP care without fees, without having to undergo a means test. The under-6s GP service contract also included age-based preventive checks focused on health and well-being and also introduced a cycle of care for children with asthma. In October 2015, a specific Diabetes Cycle of Care provided by GPs for adult patients with Type 2 diabetes who hold a medical card or GP visit card was launched.
Earlier this year, an enhanced supports package for rural GP practices was agreed between the IMO, the HSE and the Department of Health. The enhanced package included improved qualifying criteria for rural support and an increase in the financial allowance from €16,216 to €20,000 per annum. In order to support additional services being provided by GPs, the IMO, the HSE and the Department of Health also agreed to revisions to the list of special items of GP service. 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.
I have recently met with GP representative bodies to discuss the future development of general practice and I have assured them of the Government's commitment to developing primary healthcare services for all our citizens and the key role of general practice in that context. In order to ensure that the potential benefits of an enhanced integrated primary healthcare sector can be realised and supported by a new contract for general practice services, I am currently considering a number of options around this process, including the possibility of broader consultations with stakeholders.
489. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the number of persons that have died by suicide while in the care of State-funded psychiatric hospitals or mental health facilities over the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20538/16]
View answerAny deaths that occur within approved centres such as Health Service Executive hospitals and private hospitals are recorded, and approved centres are required to notify the Mental Health Commission of the death of any resident. Along with the overall number of deaths reported, which are published in the Mental Health Commission annual reports, the number of sudden and unexplained deaths is also noted. A ‘sudden and unexplained death’ refers to an unexpected death that may have been a suicide or that has occurred in suspicious circumstances as a result of violence or misadventure on the part of others or from any cause other than natural illness or disease. The Mental Health Commission does not report on how many of the sudden and unexplained deaths reported were due to suicide.
490. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the amount of funding being made available to support hospital chaplaincy services for each of the past four years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20539/16]
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.
491. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the number of persons paying the maximum €144 per month for medicines under the drug payment scheme, DPS, by HSE region; the amounts allocated in dispensing fees to pharmacists under the DPS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20540/16]
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.
492. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the number of persons currently accessing the long-term illness scheme by HSE region; the amounts being paid to pharmacists in dispensing fees under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20541/16]
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.
493. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the total costs incurred by the hi-tech drugs scheme in 2015; the amounts paid to pharmacists in dispensing fees during 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20542/16]
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.
494. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite an appointment with a paediatrician for a person (details supplied) who has been suffering illness for some time [20543/16]
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.
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.
495. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite treatment of a person (details supplied) [20544/16]
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 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.
496. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health why formal notification to commence recruitment for a vacant community-based senior dietician post for people with diabetes in County Donegal has not yet been administered by the Health Service Executive primary care division; if he is aware of the fact that general practitioners in the county are unable to refer high-risk patients to more specialised services as a result of this position remaining unfilled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20553/16]
View answerAs this is a service issue, this question 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.
497. Deputy Shane Cassells asked the Minister for Health to expedite a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied); the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20570/16]
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.
498. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the amount of pre-financing by programme his Department has applied for with regard to the current phase of EU funding programmes; the amount that is likely to be reimbursed to the European Commission; the reasons this money will be reimbursed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20581/16]
View answerMy Department has not applied for pre-financing with regard to the current phase of EU funding programmes.
As you may be aware there is a health theme within the INTERREG Cooperation Programme funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). I understand that the INTERREG Programme received pre-financing and that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, who is responsible for the ERDF programmes, has provided details of this to the Deputy.
499. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of a referral (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20617/16]
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.
