Written Answers Nos. 583-596
583. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) has been waiting two years for a bed in the three-month programme in the National Rehabilitation Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37475/16]
View answerThis 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 service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy.
584. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health his plans to sanction an independent investigation of the causation of the symptoms affecting young girls as a result of the human papilloma virus, HPV, vaccine and for a treatment plan to be put in place to facilitate their needs [37481/16]
View answerEach year in Ireland around 300 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine protects against two high risk types of HPV (16 & 18) that cause 73% of all cervical cancers. Vaccinated women and girls will still be at risk from other high risk types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer and will therefore need to continue to have regular cervical smear tests. NIAC recommended that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine be given to all girls aged 12-13 in 2009 and in September 2010 the HPV vaccination programme was introduced for all girls in first year of second level schools.
By January 2016, over 200 million doses of Gardasil had been distributed worldwide. In Ireland over 580,000 doses of Gardasil have been administered and over 220,000 girls have been fully vaccinated against HPV since it was introduced in 2010.
No medicine, including vaccines, is entirely without risk, there is therefore on-going pharmacovigilance and monitoring of medicinal products once they are authorised for use. The safety profile of Gardasil has been continuously monitored since it was first authorised both nationally and at EU level. In Ireland, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) is the statutory regulatory authority for medicines in Ireland.
In November 2015 the European Medicines Agency (EMA) completed a detailed scientific review of the HPV vaccine. The review, in which the HPRA participated, focused on two conditions, complex regional pain syndrome and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. The review found no evidence of a causal link between the vaccine and the two conditions. On 12 January 2016 the European Commission endorsed the conclusion of the EMA stating that there is no need to change the way HPV vaccines are used or to amend the product information which is now binding in all member states.
I am aware of claims of an association between HPV vaccination and a number of conditions experienced by a group of young women. It appears that some girls first suffered symptoms around the time they received the HPV vaccine, and understandably some parents have connected the vaccine to their daughter’s condition. It is important to reassure people that anyone who is suffering ill health is eligible to seek medical attention, and to access appropriate health and social care services, irrespective of the cause of their symptoms. The individual nature of the needs of some children may require access to specialist services. The HSE are currently working to put in place a clinical care pathway appropriate to the medical needs of this group.
I encourage the parents of all eligible girls to ensure that their daughters receive this important cancer preventing vaccine.
585. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if he will offer additional funding to the Aiséirí centre in County Wexford and in particular the Aislinn service which is the only residential adolescent detoxification and rehabilitation service here; his views on the importance of this service being vital in tackling addiction for young persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37483/16]
View answerOn 12 October 2016, I announced the allocation of an additional €3m in the 2017 Budget to increase support for interventions aimed at improving the health outcomes of vulnerable groups, in particular those affected by addiction, through establishing a supervised injecting facility in Dublin City centre and providing more detox places.
The additional funding will be used to address my key priorities in 2017, which include addressing gaps in addiction service provision for under 18s. I have asked the Health Service Executive to develop proposals on these priorities for consideration in the context of the Executive's 2017 National Service Plan.
I understand from the Health Service Executive that the addiction services in Community Health Organisation 5 are currently working with Aiséirí to review the model of services provided in Aislinn. As the specific issue raised by the Deputy relates to a service issue, I have referred it to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
586. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health the number of children in each of the children's hospitals with complex medical needs, rare diseases and life-limiting conditions with addresses in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37499/16]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
587. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the proposed changes to the services provided at Tallaght children’s hospital due to occur as part of the development of the children’s hospital at St. James’s in Dublin; if the children’s hospital at St. James’s will become counties Wicklow, Meath and Kildare's only accident and emergency facility for children; the proposed date for transfer of those services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37502/16]
View answerThe urgent care centres to be developed on the campuses of Tallaght Hospital and Connolly Hospital are an integral part of the new children's hospital. The children's hospital to be located on the campus of St James's will provide tertiary or more complex care for children from all over the country, and secondary or less complex care for children from the Greater Dublin Area, while the two satellite centres will improve access to urgent care and outpatient services, including rapid access general paediatric clinics and GP access to diagnostics for children locally. As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
588. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the services that will be provided in the proposed Tallaght urgent care centre, UCC; the number and type of beds available for children in Tallaght UCC; the types of illness that fall into the category of urgent as opposed to emergency; the proposed opening hours of the facility; the time at which all children that require overnight care will have to be transferred to the children's hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37503/16]
View answerThe urgent care centres to be developed on the campuses of Tallaght Hospital and Connolly Hospital are an integral part of the new children's hospital. The children's hospital to be located on the campus of St James's will provide tertiary or more complex care for children from all over the country, and secondary or less complex care for children from the Greater Dublin Area, while the two satellite centres will improve access to urgent care and outpatient services, including rapid access general paediatric clinics and GP access to diagnostics for children locally.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
589. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of children from County Wicklow that are treated in Tallaght hospital accident and emergency each year, including the number that require overnight stays [37504/16]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
590. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to an article (details supplied) regarding the access for ambulances to the children's hospital at St. James’s; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37505/16]
View answerThe planning application submitted to An Bord Pleanála by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB), the statutory body responsible for planning, designing, building and equipping the new children’s hospitals, to build the hospital on the St James’s campus included an Environmental Impact Statement detailed “traffic and parking” which included a traffic management and traffic mobility plan, endorsed by the National Transport Authority and Dublin City Council, for the construction and operational phases of the hospital. A ten-day oral hearing took place in December 2015 in which traffic evidence was presented in detail and allowed for cross-questioning by those who had concerns. An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission without change to the proposed traffic and mobility plan.
With regard to Ambulance Access, the St James’s Hospital Campus already serves as a major adult emergency department and caters for 24 hour ambulance access. The campus is served directly by key primary roads including the M50. From discussions with the National Ambulance Service and as presented to An Bord Pleanála, the off peak journey times to and from the St James’s Hospital Campus and the M50 Motorway is approximately 10 to 12 minutes with a slight increase of 2 to 3 minutes in journey times, experienced during commuter traffic peak periods. Bus lanes leading to and near the campus are also available for use by emergency service vehicles, including ambulances.
There will be 1000 parking spaces, of which 675 will be reserved for patients, and which can be pre-booked prior to arrival at the hospital. In addition, a condition of the planning permission granted by An Bord Pleanála is that a minimum of 20 spaces be marked and designated as 'parent and child' spaces and reserved for parents of children with specific needs (equipment etc.) and there will also be 27 specific car parking spaces provided for emergency drop-off parking.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
591. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of a cataract operation in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37507/16]
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.
593. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if he will provide resources to open additional long-stay beds at a community hospital (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37527/16]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
594. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Health the number of consultant neurologists that are employed on a permanent basis and on a temporary basis for the north-west region; the number of persons waiting to see a consultant neurologist in County Donegal; the length of time these persons have been waiting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37528/16]
View answerIn relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
595. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of a cataract operation in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37536/16]
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.
596. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Health if he will ensure that a person (details supplied) is receiving the correct level of pay and entitlements as part of their work with the Health Service Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37537/16]
View answerI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter.
