Written Answers Nos. 316-329
316. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the way an organisation (details supplied) is monitoring and documenting adherence to regulation by midwife registrants; and the penalties for midwife registrants if they do not comply with ensuring their continuing professional development. [51485/17]
View answerI would like to advise the Deputy that Part 11 of the Nurses and Midwives Act, 2011 has not yet been commenced. In that regard, you may wish to note that this matter is under active consideration.
The Deputy may wish to note that the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) have advised that the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics 2014 provides that all nurses and midwives must keep their knowledge and skills up to date by taking part in relevant continuing professional development. Non-compliance with the Code is one of the grounds for complaint under section 55(1) of the Nurses and Midwives Act, 2011.
Part 11 of the 2011 Act provides that there is a duty on registered nurses and midwives to maintain professional competence and they may be required to demonstrate this competence to the satisfaction of the Board. In order for registered nurses and midwives to demonstrate competence to the Board a professional competence scheme is currently being developed by the NMBI pursuant to section 89 (1) of the Act.
317. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the number of times sanctions were applied for each of the years 2012 to 2016, inclusive, by employers and related health care groups to midwives employed in 19 maternity units and maternity hospitals for violating the HSE dignity at work policy. [51486/17]
View answerI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter.
318. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Health if funding will be provided for an educational information officer to help an organisation (details supplied) with its work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51502/17]
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.
319. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Health the options available for a person (details supplied) to attend routine appointments in St. Vincent's University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51510/17]
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.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly.
320. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Health if he has given approval for additional advanced nurse practitioners, ANPs, for Letterkenny University Hospital's emergency department in 2017; if it had requested additional ANPs; if ANPs will be allocated as part of the 120 ANP posts that were announced by the HSE in September 2017; if Letterkenny University Hospital has been allocated an ANP for its emergency department under this allocation; when the post will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51520/17]
View answerIn relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
321. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health if additional funding will be made available under the national drugs strategy to a group (details supplied) to allow its worker to operate for four days per week rather than two days per week, which is currently funded; his views on the particular challenges faced by the group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51524/17]
View answerDrug and Alcohol Task Forces play a key role in assessing the extent and nature of the drug problem in their areas and in coordinating action at local level, so that there is a targeted response to the problem of substance misuse in local communities. Every effort has been made to protect the budgets of Drug and Alcohol Task Forces in recent years. In excess of €27.6m has been allocated to Task Forces by the HSE and the Department of Health for community-based drugs initiatives this year. This level of funding is consistent with the amounts provided in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The Department of Health and the HSE will be issuing letters to Drug and Alcohol Task Forces in the coming days to notify them of their 2018 funding allocations. There is an onus on Task Forces to ensure that their budgets are effectively deployed to address current priorities and locally identified needs. It is a matter for Tallaght Drug and Alcohol Task Force to consider the case made by Fettercairn Estate Management Committee in the context of framing its 2018 priorities.
322. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Health if there is a permanent speech and language therapist in place in the schools for the deaf in Dublin; and the reason a school (details supplied) does not have a permanent speech and language therapist. [51527/17]
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.
323. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Health when the new primary care and mental health services centre in Ballymote, County Sligo, will open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51533/17]
View answerHSE has advised that construction of the Primary Care Centre at Ballymote, Co. Sligo is nearing completion. It is expected that it will open late 2017/ early 2018.
324. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will address the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51536/17]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
325. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health the reason an organisation (details supplied) that represents 80% of service providers is not represented on the steering committee to oversee pricing in the sector; the reason no such steering committee was set up to review the cost of elderly care in the public sector; if a review of the capital costs in the public and private sector has been examined; if not, his plans for same; and his views on whether the private operators in seeking the appointment of a national forum for the sector asked for or expected a role in the public sector budgets or policy. [51539/17]
View answerThe legislation underpinning the Nursing Homes Support Scheme requires each private nursing home to negotiate and agree a price for long-term residential care services with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) should they wish to be an approved nursing home for the purposes of the Scheme. The NTPF has statutory independence in the performance of its function, and negotiates with each nursing home on an individual basis. The NTPF may examine the records and accounts of nursing homes as part of the process with the objective of setting a fair price which delivers value for money to the individual and the State. In negotiating with nursing homes, the NTPF has regard to:
- Costs reasonably and prudently incurred by the nursing home and evidence of value for money;
- Price(s) previously charged;
- Local market price; and
- Budgetary constraints and the obligation on the State to use available resources in the most beneficial, effective and efficient manner to improve, promote and protect the health and welfare of the public.
When the NHSS commenced in 2009, a commitment was made that it would be reviewed after three years. The Report of the Review was published in July 2015. A number of issues have been identified for more detailed consideration, including a review of pricing mechanisms by the NTPF, with a view to:
- Ensuring value for money and economy, with the lowest possible administrative costs for clients and the State and administrative burden for providers;
- Increasing the transparency of the pricing mechanism so that existing and potential investors can make as informed decisions as possible; and
- Ensuring that there is adequate residential capacity for those residents with more complex needs.
A Steering Committee has been established to oversee the review of the pricing system for private long-term residential care facilities. This Steering Committee is chaired by the NTPF and includes representatives from the Department of Health, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and the NTPF. The work in this area is ongoing and well advanced. There are no service providers included on the steering group from either the public or private nursing home sectors.
During the review of the pricing mechanism, key stakeholders were given the opportunity to contribute to the examination. Nursing Homes Ireland were one of these stakeholders and my understanding is that they availed of this opportunity to contribute.
The 2015 NHSS Review also identified the need for a Value for Money (VFM) review of the cost differentials in public and private/ voluntary residential facilities. This VFM review has recently commenced and is being led by my Department.
While consultation is, and always will remain, an important part of the approach my Department takes, it would be inappropriate to delegate elements of public policy, to any consultative forum. Were such a forum to be established it would create a situation where some of those represented and giving direction will inevitably have a commercially vested interest in the outcome. Furthermore, organisations including HIQA and the NTPF operate independently and provide a clear and essential service to the sector. Such independence could be eroded were they seen to be engaging in collective decision making with representative groups. Decision making in areas of budgetary concern, as you are aware, is a matter for the Government.
326. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health his plans to provide additional funding to an organisation (details supplied) in view of the fact that this organisation only receives €50,000 per annum in funding. [51540/17]
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.
327. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the control of below-cost selling of beer and spirits in the off-licence and supermarket trade in efforts to curb the culture of binge drinking; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51542/17]
View answerResearch indicates that a ban on below-cost selling would have a negligible impact on alcohol consumption or related harms as it would not address the health harms associated with the consumption of strong cheap alcohol products. This is because products that are cheap relative to their alcohol content will continue to be sold at a level that represents a serious threat to public health.
If such a ban were to be introduced, it would require working out a cost price for alcohol that incorporates all of the contributing costs (manufacturing, transportation and retail excise duty and VAT). This would be a complex and expensive exercise, making such a ban very difficult to implement, monitor and enforce.
Many of the cheapest alcohol products are already priced in or around excise duty plus VAT so a ban on below cost selling devised on this basis would have a negligible impact on alcohol consumption or related harms.
Minimum Unit Pricing, which is the approach chosen in the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, targets the very cheapest alcohol relative to its strength because the price is determined by, and is directly proportionate to, the amount of alcohol in the drink.
328. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health if he plans to increase the number of stroke units; if so, the amount by which funding will be increased; the locations in which funding will be made available in the HSE service plan for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51543/17]
View answerAccess to stroke unit care has been shown to improve stroke patient outcomes through reduced mortality rates, reduced dependency and shorter lengths of stay in hospital by patients. While the first national stroke care audit report in 2001 reported one stroke unit in the country, since the commencement of the National Clinical Programme for Stroke (NCPS), nine new stroke units have been opened, bringing the total number of stroke units in acute hospitals to twenty-two. Two further stroke units are currently in development with a third at planning stages. It was recommended in the National Stroke Programme Model of Care 2012 that all hospitals admitting stroke patients should have a Stroke Unit large enough to accommodate all stroke patients.
In 2016 the National Stroke Programme published an Irish Heart Foundation/HSE National Stroke Audit of Stroke Rehabilitation Units, available at:
http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/publications/Clinical-Strategy-and-Programmes/National-Stroke-Audit-Rehabilitation-Units-2016.pdf.
It found that the care of people with stroke in Ireland has improved since the National Clinical Programme for Stroke (NCPS) was established in 2009-2010. Because of this stroke deaths in Ireland have reduced by more than 15%.
The HSE is currently in the process of preparing its 2018 National Service Plan and discussions are continuing with my Department. The timeframes for submission of the HSE Service Plan for approval are set down in legislation and on receipt of the letter of determination, the HSE has 21 days to prepare and submit its Service Plan for 2018 for my approval. Following this, the National Service Plan will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas and then published at the earliest possible time.
329. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive an appointment. [51547/17]
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.
