Written Answers Nos. 556-571
556. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health the status of the appointment of new emergency department consultants in St. Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny; the number of new appointments he intends to make in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21930/16]
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.
557. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if discussions between the Ireland East Hospital Group, IEHG, and the HSE acute hospitals division to address the disparity in funding sought by IEHG to address service requirements and planned and approved developments, including the winter initiative, the new developments in counties Wexford and Kilkenny as well as full costs associated with the establishment of the pancreatic transplant service to St. Vincent's University Hospital and full year costs of 2015 developments, with the actual allocation received in 2016, have been concluded with an outcome that was satisfactory to IEHG; and the details of the outcome of the discussions. [21931/16]
View answerIn relation to budget allocations for 2016, as the Deputy is aware additional funding of €500m from the Supplementary estimates and Winter Initiative, which was recently passed in the Dail, will be provided to the HSE shortly. I am confident that this additional funding gives Hospital Groups, including the Ireland East Hospital Group (IEHG), a realistic budget for 2016.
I have also stressed that there must be compliance with budget this year and Hospital Group CEOs, including the IEHG Group CEO, must ensure that the challenge of delivering the National Service Plan within budget is met with a focussed management effort on the delivery of savings, and an early improvement in the overall budgetary situation. In relation to HSE negotiations with the IEHG regarding its 2016 allocation, 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.
558. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the number of full-time approved emergency medicine consultant posts in each public and voluntary hospital in tabular form. [21932/16]
View answerI 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.
559. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Health to confirm that there will be no service cut or closure at Mullingar Midlands Hospital accident and emergency department after reports in the media claiming otherwise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21934/16]
View answerI would like to reassure the Deputy that the work underway in developing a policy on a national trauma policy is about getting the best outcomes for a particular, small category of patients who sustain traumatic injuries. It is not about closing Emergency Departments or diminishing services. There are currently no plans to close or remove trauma services from any hospital.
A trauma patient needs access to the best service that has the right resources to match their often multiple and critical needs in the shortest time possible. The aim of developing national policy on trauma networks is to ensure that trauma patients are brought to the right place at the right time for the right care so they can make the best recovery possible. It is about building on the strengths of pre-hospital care, all of our acute hospitals and post-acute services to provide an optimal configuration of trauma services. The implementation of Hospital Groups provides an opportunity for hospitals to work together to enhance trauma services for patients.
The need for a national trauma system has been recognised for many years. In June 2015 the National Clinical Programme for Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery published the Model of Care for trauma and orthopaedic surgery and strongly recommended that a national approach to trauma services should be taken. The RCSI (the professional body representing all surgeons and emergency medicine specialists) also called for its establishment at their annual scientific meeting last year.
Last year, the then Minister for Health appointed a National Steering Group to develop policy on a major trauma system for Ireland. This is a joint initiative from the Department of Health and the HSE, developed in recognition that we do not have a coordinated trauma network structure in Ireland.
The Steering Group has been working with the Department of Health, the HSE and all relevant HSE National Clinical Leads, including Surgery, Pre-Hospital Emergency Care, Critical Care, Orthopaedics and Trauma on the development of the policy. The group has not yet reported, I have not seen any output from this group and the Group's recommendations are not expected until later this year.
560. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Health the reason a dental service (details supplied) is due to close; when, and the duration for which it is due to close; the number of dental appointments that will have to be relocated during this period; the number of dental patients who will be affected by this closure; the reason the Health Service Executive will not provide temporary dentist cover at this location to ensure continuance of service; the cost of providing such temporary cover at the clinic; the location to which dental patients who would have otherwise accessed the clinic will be redirected to for the duration of the closure; if additional resources will be provided to these other clinics to cope with the increase demand for services; the impact that the closure of the clinic will have on waiting times; and the total number of dental appointments covered by the clinic during the past 12 months. [21942/16]
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.
561. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health the procedure and the steps involved in the diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome in a child; if he is satisfied that all of the necessary expertise to diagnose and treat this syndrome is in place in psychological services in County Longford. [21943/16]
View answerThe particular issue raised by the Deputy is a service matter for the HSE. Accordingly 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 up the matter with the HSE.
562. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Health the position regarding medical cards for persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21944/16]
View answerThe 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.
564. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health when funding will be made available for a residential placement for a person (details supplied) in south Tipperary who has been a patient in St. Luke's Psychiatric Hospital, Kilkenny, since December 2015; the time a person must be hospitalised in an acute facility due to a lack of funding, when a residential placement would be more suitable to their needs; the cost to the State of keeping this person in an acute hospital facility as opposed to a residential facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21950/16]
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.
565. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding Central Remedial Clinic pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21953/16]
View answerAs the question relates to the use of funds provided by the HSE to an agency funded under section 38 of the Health Act 2004, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on the 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.
566. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health to expedite a date for surgery for a person (details supplied). [21965/16]
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.
567. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the amount spent across departments on agency staff by the Cavan Monaghan Hospital Group in 2016 to date in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21991/16]
View answerI 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.
568. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health the status of a dental procedure for a person (details supplied). [22014/16]
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.
569. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) is still on the waiting list for a new wheelchair; and when they will receive same. [22024/16]
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.
570. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Health the amount of money spent by Letterkenny University Hospital on private ambulance services in each of the years 2014 and 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22026/16]
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.
571. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health the reasons a case of Asperger's syndrome was not detected in the case of a person (details supplied). [22027/16]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to an individual case, 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.
