Written Answers Nos. 705-724
705. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the number of child and adolescent services without seven over seven mental health supports; the locations of these services; the number of staff and resources required to provide seven over seven mental health supports; his plans to implement these services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35848/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
706. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the number of adult services without seven over seven mental health supports; the locations involved; the number of staff recruited to provide seven over seven mental health supports since 17 May 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35849/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
707. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the number of sections planned for the general scheme of the Bill to review the Mental Health Act 2001; the number of sections that have been drafted to date; the expected date his Department will send the general scheme of the Bill to the Mental Health Commission for review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35850/18]
View answerThe Department is currently drafting the General Scheme of a Bill to amend existing mental health legislation based on the recommendations of the report of the Expert Group set up to review the Mental Health Act 2001, which was published in 2015.
While the Expert Group review had 165 recommendations, approximately 75% relate to changes in legislation. To date a small number of recommendations have been enacted in the Mental Health (Amendment) Act 2015 and in the more recent Mental Health (Amendment) Act 2018 which, of course, Deputy Browne introduced. The Department's initial working draft suggests that there is likely to be in the region of 50-60 heads in the Department's comprehensive mental health amendment bill. I expect that the draft bill will be passed on to the Mental Health Commission for their views by the end of the year.
The Deputy will also be aware that draft Heads of Bill for the provision of deprivation of liberty safeguards for those in residential settings (including approved centres) were published by the Department of Health in December 2017 for public consultation. The Department is currently analysing submissions received and it is intended to publish a report of the findings in September. An Advisory Group comprised of key stakeholders has been formed to consider the findings of the public consultation, advise on appropriate amendments to the draft Heads of Bill and ensure that the approach taken integrates effectively with existing legislation. Every effort is being made to progress the legislation as quickly as possible.
709. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of an operation for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35856/18]
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, since 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 the Deputy directly.
710. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if additional weekend home help hours will be provided for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35859/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
711. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Health his plans to remove a disincentive in the fair deal scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35861/18]
View answerUnder NHSS rental income is considered income for the purpose of the financial assessment, and is assessed at 80% less any allowable deductions. Allowable deductions include tax paid to Revenue and therefore any tax paid to Revenue should be deducted from the rental income. Other deductions include health expenses, payments required by law, rent payments and borrowings in respect of a person’s principal private residence.
There are currently no plans to amend the financial assessment element of the Scheme, However, Action 17 of the Strategy for the Rental Sector commits the Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government (DHPLG) to examine the treatment under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme's financial assessment of income from the rental of a person's principal private residence where they move into long term residential care. The Department of Health is currently engaging with the DHPLG in this regard.
712. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the status of the emergence of a link between Pandemrix and narcolepsy in children who were administered the swine flu vaccination; when his attention was first drawn to the fact that the issue was a matter of concern; the steps he has taken to address those concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35862/18]
View answerThe Final Report of National Narcolepsy Study Steering Committee, “Investigation of an increase in the incidence of narcolepsy in children and adolescents in 2009 and 2010”, published on 19 April 2012, set out the facts concerning when knowledge of possible side effects from the pandemic influenza vaccine came to the attention of health authorities. The first reported case of narcolepsy as a possible consequence of the Pandemrix vaccination was identified by the Swedish pharmacovigilance authority in August 2010. The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), being the relevant regulatory authority for Pandemrix, continually monitored the reported adverse reactions of Pandemrix and advised member states accordingly.
It is important to remember the context in which vaccination against influenza type A (H1N1) was introduced. On 11 June 2009, following consideration by its Emergency Committee, the WHO raised the Influenza type A (H1N1) alert to Pandemic level 6 which officially declares a pandemic. In Ireland, children and young adults were the most affected groups. Eighty percent of cases of were less than 35 years of age. More than 1,000 cases of confirmed Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza were hospitalised and 100 people were admitted to Intensive Care Units. There were 29 deaths, all but two of which were in ‘at risk’ groups and most had other significant underlying medical conditions.
The Department of Health activated the National Plan for Pandemic Influenza and, based on the advices of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, ‘at risk’ groups were prioritised for vaccination. Vaccination of children was prioritised as the rates of influenza were highest in those groups at that time. The public pandemic vaccination campaign ended on 31 March 2010. Over 1.1 million pandemic vaccinations were recorded giving a 25% uptake for the total population. Since the 2010/2011 influenza season H1N1 has been incorporated in the seasonal flu vaccine used in Ireland.
A copy of the report can be found on my Department’s website: health.gov.ie/blog/publications/final-report-of-the-national-narcolepsy-study-steering-committee-2/.
713. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will clarify his plans to offer abortion services to residents of Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35863/18]
View answerWork is ongoing on the legislation to regulate termination of pregnancy with the intention of publishing it in the House as soon as possible in this session. This legislation will be based on the General Scheme of a Bill entitled Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill approved by Government on the 10 of July and published on my Department’s website.
A range of issues are being considered in developing the legislation and operational response to the referendum.
714. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the amount of counterfeit medication estimated to be in circulation here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35864/18]
View answerThe Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) is responsible for supervision of the authorisation, manufacture, wholesaling and placing on the market of medicines for human use in Ireland. The Authority has not, to date, found any falsified (including counterfeit) medicine within the legitimate supply chain that has reached patient level. It has identified and investigated falsified medicines transacted through a small number of wholesalers and, in each case, the medicines concerned were not subsequently sold into the Irish market. The HPRA does not have any remit under intellectual property enforcement legislation and does not keep records under the heading ‘counterfeit medications’.
In co-operation with Revenue’s Customs Service and An Garda Síochána, the HPRA detains significant quantities of illegally supplied medicines. An amount of these are known to be falsified. In 2017, the HPRA initiated six prosecutions that included falsified medicines, only one of which involved a wholesaler that was authorised when the activity took place, and the remainder were supplies that took place outside the legitimate supply chain. Since 2015, the HPRA has initiated a total of 15 prosecutions that involved falsified medicines.
The HPRA also works with other regulatory and law enforcement agencies worldwide in relation to the illegal manufacture, importation and distribution of medicines, medical devices, cosmetics and other health products. This includes participation in Operation Pangea, an Interpol-coordinated international operation against illegal supply, including trafficking, of unauthorised prescription medicines and medical devices via online and social media channels.
715. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the level of ambulance cover in County Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35865/18]
View answerAs this is a service issue, I have asked the HSE to reply to you directly.
716. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health if investment has been made by the health service in CRISPR gene editing technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35866/18]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware CRISPR is one of the new gene editing technologies which is used mainly in research laboratories in genetic research. The Health Research Board (HRB), which is an agency of my Department, funds a small number of research projects in this area. Projects using this type of technology include research in the area of neurodegenerative disease and breast cancer. In addition, I am advised that a number of projects using genome editing, involving Irish researchers, are approved under the Horizon 2020 EU Programme.
Health research projects in Ireland, outside HRB funding can also take place in fora such as universities and hospitals. Information on these research projects would not be routinely collected by my Department. The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation may fund research relevant to the Deputy's question through its research funding agency, Science Foundation Ireland.
717. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) can expect an appointment for orthodontic treatment [35877/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.
718. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Health the process of the dissemination and circulation of recommendations from internal and external reviews of maternity services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35879/18]
View answer719. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Health if each recommendation of each internal and external review of maternity services is circulated and disseminated to hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35880/18]
View answer720. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Health if recommendations of internal and external reviews of maternity services have not been circulated or disseminated to hospitals; if so, the reason these were not circulated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35881/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 718 to 720, inclusive, together.
The National Women & Infants Health Programme has been tasked to disseminate learning from incident reviews and ensure all recommendations are implemented nationally.
Accordingly, I have asked the HSE to reply to you directly.
721. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Health the process by which recommendations of internal and external reviews are transitioned to learning notices in hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35882/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter the question has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
722. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the person in the HSE responsible for a social media account (details supplied) [35883/18]
View answerAs this relates to a HSE service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
723. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his plans to address matters with regard to trainee nursing positions in hospitals (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35886/18]
View answerI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter.
724. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if an appointment for a person (details supplied) will be expedited; the status of the appointment; the position of the person on the waiting list at the Dublin Dental University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35894/18]
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, since 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 the Deputy directly.
