Written Answers Nos. 355-378
355. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Health to set out the status of the establishment of an external review of the misdiagnosed bowel cancer cases at Wexford General Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28058/16]
View answerIt is anticipated that the external review relating to bowel cancer cases at Wexford General Hospital will be commissioned by the end of this year.
356. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Health if he will examine the waiting time endured by a person (details supplied) with no contact from the hospital for over 13 months; if he will expedite this appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28062/16]
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.
357. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Health to outline the circumstances in which hospital transport is provided for patients living in rural areas who need to attend the hospital on a regular basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28069/16]
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 you directly.
358. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Health when he will publish the national cancer strategy 2016-25; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28070/16]
View answerDrafting of a National Cancer Strategy for the period 2016 to 2025 is nearing finalisation and it is envisaged that it will be brought to Government before the end of the year, following which it will be published.
359. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health to outline the position regarding a person (details supplied) who has been waiting on a residential placement; if he will provide a copy of the decisions made at the case meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28072/16]
View answerThe 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.
As 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.
360. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Health to set out the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28079/16]
View answerScoliosis affects approximately 1% of children and adolescents in Ireland. The management of scoliosis is complex and is determined by the severity of the curvature and skeletal maturity.
Long waiting times for scoliosis surgery are not acceptable, and my Department has been working closely with the HSE to address services pressures, particularly in Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin (OLCHC), which is the largest provider of scoliosis surgery for children and young people. Additional funding of €1.042m was allocated under the 2015 Service Plan to increase capacity at OLCHC, and an additional orthopaedic surgeon, anaesthetist, and support staff, are now in place with recruitment of a further additional orthopaedic surgeon underway. Capital funding was also provided for a new theatre on site to expand theatre capacity further, and this is currently being commissioned. The Children's Hospital Group is proactively working on nurse recruitment to support the opening of the new theatre.
The HSE Winter Initiative 2016-2017, published on 9th September, also includes €2m provided specifically for scoliosis patients to treat 39 adolescent patients on the Tallaght waiting list and an additional 15-20 paediatric patients from the Crumlin waiting list by year end.
I recently met with a number of scoliosis advocacy groups to discuss their concerns and my Department will continue to work with the HSE and the relevant hospitals to ensure improvements in access to spinal surgery. In relation to the specific query, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
361. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to an instance in which a general practitioner, who is not participating in the free under-six scheme, is having patients aged 70 years or over removed from the care of the practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28082/16]
View answerThe contract for the provision of free GP care to children aged under 6 years was issued to GPs at the end of April 2015, following the conclusion of contractual discussions and the approval of fee rates by the then Minister as provided for under the Health (General Practitioners Service), Act 2014. It should be noted that approximately 94% of GPs who hold a GMS Contract with the HSE have signed up to the Under 6 Contract. GPs are self-employed contractors and it is up to each individual contractor to decide whether they want to sign up and provide this new enhanced service.
The introduction of GP care without fees at the point of access to all persons aged 70 years and over commenced on 5 August 2015. This service is being provided under the existing 2005 GP visit card contract.
Any suitably qualified GP can enter into a contract with the HSE for the provision of the General Medical Services Scheme as provided for under the Health (Provision of General Practitioner Services) Act 2012. I am not aware of the circumstances of the case referred to by the Deputy.
362. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health to outline the reason patients at a hospital (details supplied) have reported lack of access to radiology, X-ray and MRI facilities during weekends; if he will provide in tabular form a detailed staffing rota for all such facilities on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, including the hours for which the facilities are normally operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28086/16]
View answerIn relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
363. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Health when a refund will issue to a person (details supplied) in respect of a podiatry scheme within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28091/16]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for reply to the Deputy.
364. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health to set out the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied). [28093/16]
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.
365. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a matter (details supplied); his plans to resolve the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28095/16]
View answerIn relation to the specific queries raised by the Deputy, as these are service matters, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
366. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Health to set out the status of a physiotherapy appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28098/16]
View answerAs this 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.
367. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health when University Hospital Waterford was designated as a percutaneous coronary intervention centre, providing partial 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. emergency PCCI care; the staffing requirements necessary to provide this service; the population serviced, detailed by geographical area and population numbers; the current staff complement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28104/16]
View answer368. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if a business case for a second catheterisation laboratory was submitted to the HSE or his Department by University Hospital Waterford; the way in which this case was processed; and the action taken by his Department and the HSE following the business case submission. [28105/16]
View answer369. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if University Hospital Waterford was placed on a risk register in respect of cardiology services; the changes which were made to the risk assessment from 2012 to date in 2016; the rationale for any risk assessment changes; the way in which the process works; the person which carries out the risk assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28106/16]
View answer370. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if design plans, including sketches, were drawn up for a second catheterisation laboratory in University Hospital Waterford; if a design team was appointed; the names of the design team members; if he will provide the details of the design and all sketches; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28107/16]
View answer371. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if he will provide the design team sketches or plans for the building of a second catheterisation laboratory at University Hospital Waterford; and if any plan or sketch involved the moving of the orthodontic unit at the hospital. [28108/16]
View answer372. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if, following the submission of a business case and a design plan for a second catheterisation laboratory for University Hospital Waterford, the associated process has resulted in the hospital being in a queue for capital funding for same. [28109/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 367 to 372, inclusive, together.
In relation to the detailed queries raised by the Deputy, as these are service matters I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
373. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the meaning of the south east, as defined by a commitment in a report (details supplied) that University Hospital Waterford would provide invasive cardiology services to the south east; the way in which the south east is defined geographically and by population; the meaning of invasive cardiology services and the services which constitute invasive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28110/16]
View answer436. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health to outline the particular aspects of the Herity report that he intends to implement; when these additional services will be provided to University Hospital Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28446/16]
View answer437. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health to outline his views on whether clinicians in the south east have as much to offer in terms of clinical knowledge as a person (details supplied); his views on whether, as valued employees of the HSE, they should be afforded the opportunity to sit down and discuss the findings of the Herity report with him; if he will agree to such a meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28447/16]
View answer438. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health to outline his views on whether an increase of eight hours per week will have any real impact on the waiting times for cardiac patients in University Hospital Waterford in view of the fact that the consultants are already working up to 7.30 p.m. or 8 p.m. at night on a regular basis to deal with the cases they are currently struggling to cope with; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28448/16]
View answer439. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the increased equipment noted in the Herity report was solely for an image intensifier and that there are three other components of the laboratory; furthermore, if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some €240,000 has been spent on the existing catheterisation laboratory recently to ensure this equipment is supportable; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the existing laboratory is currently up to specification and fully operational for at least the next five years; his views on whether the quality of the existing laboratory is not the issue but rather the capacity of the existing laboratory and its ability to offer a clinically safe service in isolation is very much the concern of the clinicians in the south east; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28449/16]
View answer440. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health his views on whether the lack of a second catheterisation laboratory was noted on the risk register at the highest possible risk rating since 2013, in line with the HSE recommendations and that the Irish national programme for heart failure treatment actually requires a second laboratory in all units providing acute heart attack care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28450/16]
View answer442. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health to outline the reason for the discrepancy between the HSE findings of the past three years, which clearly indicate a critical need for a second catheterisation laboratory at the University Hospital Waterford site, documented at national level and the subsequent failure to recommend same in the Herity report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28452/16]
View answer443. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health to outline the reason he felt it unnecessary to forward the two terms of reference put forward by the clinicians in Waterford which particularly reference the clinical risk to the patient as their main focus in seeking a second catheterisation laboratory for the south east region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28453/16]
View answer444. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health if his attention was drawn to the contents of the briefing document which was forwarded to a person (details supplied) in conjunction with the terms of reference prior to the report being drafted; when he became aware of the document; his views on whether this document drafted by the HSE unfairly directs the author on which direction the report should take; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28454/16]
View answer445. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health to outline the reason the mid-west region with a catchment, at the time of delivery, of circa 310,000 persons was awarded a second laboratory without the need for a clinical review; if his attention was drawn to the fact that his predecessor had incorrectly indicated that this region had received the second laboratory on the basis of a clinical review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28455/16]
View answer446. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health to set out details of the clinical review under which additional resources for Cork University Hospital were announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28456/16]
View answer447. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health if liability for adverse clinical events occurring as a result of inadequate resourcing will rest with him, his Department or the author of the report (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28457/16]
View answer448. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health to outline his views on whether clinicians at University Hospital Waterford will not be held responsible for any direct or indirect negative consequences for patients due to the continuing lack of a second catheterisation laboratory at University Hospital Waterford or any later implementation of the Herity report or parts thereof; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28458/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 373, 436 to 440 and 442 to 448, inclusive, together.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for a Partnership Government committed to the development of a second Cath Lab in University Hospital Waterford, (UHW) subject to a favourable recommendation from an independent clinical review of the needs of the region. The review was undertaken by Dr Niall Herity, a highly respected, Belfast based NHS cardiologist. It is a comprehensive report which reflects the fact that Dr Herity consulted widely and met with all of the key stakeholders including the management and staff of both UHW and Cork University Hospital.
Dr Herity has made clear recommendations that a second cardiac cath lab at UHW is not justified and I accept this. However, he also recommends investing in UHW to enhance the existing cardiology services including increasing the number of weekly sessions currently provided, in order to address waiting times and to provide improved access for patients. He also recommends that new specialist equipment be provided to improve contingency for radiological equipment failure during a procedure. I am happy to provide the additional resources necessary to implement these recommendations. This investment will be reflected in the HSE National Service Plan for 2017.
Dr Herity also recommends that some services be provided elsewhere. However, in order to do this a number of operational processes will have to first be embedded. I want to be certain that any change to how a service is delivered will result in improved services for the patients using that service. Therefore, I have asked my Department to address the implications of ceasing primary PCI services at UHW by undertaking a national review of all primary PCI services with the aim to ensure that as many patients as possible have access to a 24/7 basis to safe and sustainable emergency interventions following a heart attack. I expect the review to be completed by the end of July 2017.
The Report on the Establishment of Hospital Groups notes that UHW should continue to provide invasive cardiology services for the population of the South East in collaboration with the cardiology service in Cork. The patient flow analysis detailed in Dr Herity's report provides evidence that the Cath Lab in UHW is currently providing services to the population of the South East and, in particular, to residents of counties Wexford, Waterford and South Tipperary. Implementation of Dr Herity's report will provide improved cardiology services for the South East and will strengthen links between clinicians in UHW and Cork University Hospital.
I intend to visit UHW next month and I will take the opportunity to speak with staff and management on a broad range of issues.
374. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health to outline the reason a medical card was refused in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28113/16]
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 was issued to Oireachtas members.
375. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health to set out details relating to a youth centre (details supplied) for each of the past five years, the number of counsellors involved in this service and the number of young persons on the books availing of the service; if the service will be expanded and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28118/16]
View answerAs this is a service issue, this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
376. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health to outline the reason for the delay in arranging a cataract operation for a person (details supplied). [28119/16]
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.
377. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if an early date for a cataract operation will be arranged for a person (details supplied). [28120/16]
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.
378. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health to set out the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied). [28121/16]
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.
