Written Answers Nos. 249-260
249. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 245 to 250, inclusive, of 6 April 2017, the details of the resources that would be needed for service roll out of the revised model of care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21038/17]
View answer250. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 245 to 250, inclusive, of 6 April 2017, the funding needed to support the reconfiguration of services to the model of care; the funding needed to address the geographical gaps in service provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21039/17]
View answer252. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 245 to 250, inclusive, of 6 April 2017, the investment that would be required for the heart failure specialist teams to build on the work carried out by the NCP to improve care for heart failure patients in hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21041/17]
View answer253. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 245 to 250, inclusive, of 6 April 2017, the investment that would be required to implement heart failure integrated care projects in the community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21042/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 249, 250, 252 and 253 together.
My Department and the Health Service Executive (HSE) engage in consultation with regard to the setting of the national budget for each service area as part of the National Service Plan and Estimates process. The setting of budgets for the type and volume of health and personal social services is completed within the HSE as part of a consultation process between the National Directorate and the relevant clinical programmes and service providers.
In response to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
251. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 245 to 250, inclusive, of 6 April 2017, the details of the funding needed to address the gap in service provision in County Cork which currently has no heart failure unit or structured service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21040/17]
View answerIn relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
254. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 55 of 1 February 2017, if his Department has invoked the urgency procedure to shorten the notification period in regard to regulations of the misuse of drugs legislation (details supplied). [21045/17]
View answerUnder the Technical Standards and Regulations Directive 2015/1535/EU, Member States are required to inform the European Commission of any new regulations or standards which may create a barrier to the free movement of goods. The new Misuse of Drug legislation has the potential to affect trade, in particular because of the introduction of a requirement for import licences for certain controlled drugs, and therefore was notified to the EU whilst in draft form and before it was adopted under national law.
Notified regulations are usually subject to a three month standstill period to enable the Commission and other Member States to examine the notified text and to respond appropriately. As the regulations related to the protection of public health or safety, the Department invoked an urgency procedure which shortened this notification period to ten days. The Commission did not raise any objections and this process has now been completed.
The Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act 2016 will be commenced on 4 May 2017, together with the Misuse of Drugs Regulations and the associated Orders.
255. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health his views on the work of a centre (details supplied) in providing aftercare treatment for persons with addiction; his plans to assist the centre in view of the loss of its residential facility in recent days; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21046/17]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
256. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health his views on the severe symptoms suffered by more than 100 girls that received the HPV vaccine; if he will meet the group representing these girls; and the steps he will take to establish the cause of their symptoms [21047/17]
View answerImmunisation is regarded as one of the safest and most cost-effective of health care interventions and the importance of vaccination is acknowledged by all the major international health organisations. The World Health Organisation estimates that up to 3 million lives are saved each year as a result of vaccination and the scientific evidence is clear that benefits of vaccines outweigh the known side effects.
The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). NIAC is a committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland comprising of experts in a number of specialties including infectious diseases, paediatrics and public health. The committee's recommendations are informed by public health advice and international best practice. All relevant and appropriate information is taken into account when deciding to make changes to the State's immunisation programmes.
The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) is responsible for monitoring the safety and quality of all medicines that are licensed in Ireland. While no medicine is entirely without risk, the safety of vaccines, as with all medicines, is carefully monitored and any new evidence concerning side-effects is taken into account. The HPRA and the European Medicines Agency continually monitor adverse events to vaccination.
Unfounded, false claims have been made of an association between HPV vaccination and a number of conditions experienced by a group of young women. It appears that they first suffered symptoms around the time they received the HPV vaccine and a false connection is being made between the HPV vaccine and the onset of these symptoms. 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 diverse nature of these symptoms, which can have both physical and psychological causes, are shared by many conditions which has implications for both diagnostic and treatment services. The individual nature of the needs of some children may require access to specialist services and the HSE is working to put in place clinical care pathways appropriate to their differing medical needs.
As there is no scientific evidence that the vaccine causes long term illnesses, the HPV vaccine cannot be held responsible for these illnesses. However, this misinformation has led to a significant drop in uptake rates of the HPV vaccine. This means that a large cohort of girls is now at risk of developing cervical cancer later in their lives.
Misinformation is causing real harm to those unvaccinated children and adults who develop vaccine preventable diseases, and to people who seek inappropriate treatments for real conditions that are not caused by vaccines. Any parent who has doubts or questions about vaccination should talk to their family doctor, or alternatively to visit the National Immunisation office website. These sources of information are clear and accurate and will answer any queries you may have about the benefits or risks of vaccination. Vaccination is the best way for parents to make sure their children are healthy and protected from preventable diseases.
258. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if he will schedule a second appointment for surgery for a person (details supplied). [21059/17]
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.
259. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an assessment of needs for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21074/17]
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 service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy.
260. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which deficiencies in the delivery of the health service have been identified in specific areas; if specific deficiencies have been identified as a percentage of the overall delivery structures; his plans to identify such issues (details supplied) with a view to addressing these issues in the short to medium term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21082/17]
View answer262. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if the optimum number of medical and surgical beds required to meet the population needs now and in the future has been identified; his plans to achieve the appropriate target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21084/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 260 and 262 together.
My Department has commenced the Health Service Capacity Review over recent weeks. Work has been progressing on the Review process, including putting in place the Review structures, finalising the Terms of Reference, assessing external expertise requirements, and considering options for stakeholder consultation.
The review is being led by my Department and overseen by a Steering Group which is now in place. Also, an independent peer group of international health experts has been established to review and validate the review methodology and findings. My Department has recently gone to tender for technical, analytical and engagement expertise to assist in the Review process.
Assessing capacity requirements, including those mentioned by the Deputy, is a complex task and cannot be divorced from considerations on the underlying model of care we want to develop for the Irish health service. It is widely acknowledged that primary care can provide more appropriate and effective management and treatment of some illnesses and conditions, especially chronic diseases. Similarly, the availability of non-acute beds and services in the community can mitigate the need for acute hospital admission, or facilitate earlier discharge. These factors directly contribute to the demands on the acute hospital system.
For this reason, I have confirmed already that the review will have a wider scope than previous exercises and will examine key elements of primary and community care infrastructure in addition to hospital facilities.
The Terms of Reference for the review are as follows:
a) to determine and review current capacity, both public and private, in the health system and benchmark with international comparators;
b) to determine drivers of future demand and estimate impact on capacity requirements to 2030;
c) to consider and analyse how key reforms to the model of care will impact on future capacity requirements across the system; and
d) to provide an overall assessment, including prioritisation and sequencing, of future capacity requirements on a phased basis for the period 2017 – 2030 at a national and regional level, cognisant of resource availability.
It is essential that this review is progressed sufficiently to enable it to feed into the mid-term review of the capital programme, which will take place later in the year. While the review will consider capacity requirements over the next decade or so, I am anxious that it also provides a short-term focus and determines how capital and other investment over the coming years can be best targeted, given the current pressures within our hospital services.
I look forward to the emerging findings later in the year.
