Written Answers Nos. 925-944
925. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Health the length of time a secretarial position has remained vacant in the dentistry department of Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin; when this position will be filled; the steps that will be taken to address the backlog of work resulting from this vacancy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36728/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
926. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) can expect to receive a referral letter from the dentistry department of Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin; the timeframe for the person's treatment under the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36729/18]
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.
927. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 65 of 3 May 2017, if the ecology assessment of the identified site has been completed; the progress to date on the provision of a new health centre for Inisbofin, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36733/18]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly in relation to this matter.
928. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Health if persons (details supplied) will be assessed in respect of the provision of home help. [36735/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
929. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the reason the new contracts for home helps are not being implemented in Tralee, County Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36736/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
931. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Health if the inclusion of a specific illness (details supplied) in the long-term illness card scheme will be reconsidered. [36767/18]
View answerThe LTI Scheme was established under Section 59(3) of the Health Act 1970 (as amended). The conditions covered by the LTI are: acute leukaemia; mental handicap; cerebral palsy; mental illness (in a person under 16); cystic fibrosis; multiple sclerosis; diabetes insipidus; muscular dystrophies; diabetes mellitus; parkinsonism; epilepsy; phenylketonuria; haemophilia; spina bifida; hydrocephalus; and conditions arising from the use of Thalidomide. Under the LTI Scheme, patients receive drugs, medicines, and medical and surgical appliances directly related to the treatment of their illness, free of charge.
There are no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the Scheme.
932. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Health the status of an appointment for surgery for a person (details supplied). [36776/18]
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.
933. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if immunotherapy drugs, pembrolizumab or nivolumab, will be made available on the medical card to persons with late stage cancers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36779/18]
View answerThe HSE has statutory responsibility for medicine pricing and reimbursement decisions, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013. The HSE applies the same process on an administrative basis to the assessment of hospital medicines.
As Minister for Health, I do not have any statutory power or functions in relation to the reimbursement of medicines.
Immunotherapy drugs such as pembrolizumab and nivolumab are administered in a hospital setting only and all persons ordinarily resident in Ireland are eligible for hospital services as public patients.
Pembrolizumab is currently reimbursed for the following indications:
- as monotherapy for the treatment of advanced (unresectable or metastatic) melanoma in adults.
- as monotherapy for the first-line treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) in adults whose tumours express PD-L1 with a 50% tumour proportion score (TPS) with no EGFR or ALK positive tumour mutations.
The HSE is currently deliberating on the reimbursement of pembrolizumab for the following indications:
- as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma who have failed autologous stem cell transplant and brentuximab vedotin (BV), or who are transplant-ineligible and have failed BV
- as a monotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC in adults whose tumours express PD-L1 with a 1% TPS and who have received at least one prior chemotherapy regimen. Patients with EGFR or ALK positive tumour mutations should also have received targeted therapy before receiving Keytruda.
The HSE has commissioned the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics to conduct Health Technology Assessments in respect of the following indications:
- Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who are not eligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy.
- Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as monotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma in adults who have received prior platinum-containing chemotherapy.
There are no other indications for pembrolizumab approved in the European Union at this time.
Nivolumab is currently reimbursed for the following indications:
- as a monotherapy treatment for patients diagnosed with unresectable metastatic melanoma.
- for the treatment of relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma after autologous stem cell transplant and treatment with brentuximab vedotin
- for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma after prior therapy in adults.
- for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) in adults progressing on or after platinum-based therapy.
- Nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the treatment of advanced melanoma.
The HSE approved nivolumab for reimbursement from 03 September 2018, as a new option for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC after previous chemotherapy in adults.
The HSE is currently deliberating on the reimbursement of nivolumab for the following indications:
- 2nd line use in locally advanced unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.
- Adjuvant melanoma.
934. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Health if the delivery of equipment to a person (details supplied) in County Cork will be expedited. [36783/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.
935. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the status of funding for the proposed new renal unit for Tallaght University Hospital; his plans to ensure the funding is forthcoming in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36793/18]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly in relation to this matter.
936. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the number of home support packages that have been granted in the CHO7 area dealing with south-western areas of Dublin in the past year; the number of applications in this regard; the allocated budget for home support packages in the CHO7 area in the past year; the waiting time for home support packages in this area; his plans to increase funding for home support packages in the CHO7 area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36794/18]
View answerAs the statistical information sought by the Deputy relating to Home Support Services in the CHO 7 area is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy on those matters as soon as possible.
Additional funding will be considered in context of the Estimate process.
937. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the average number of persons waiting on trolleys in Tallaght University Hospital in July 2018 and August 2018 and the number for July 2017 and August 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36795/18]
View answerI fully acknowledge the distress for patients and their families caused by overcrowded conditions in some of our hospital Emergency Departments (EDs) and am committed to tackling overcrowding in EDs, which impacts on patients and staff working on the front line.
In view of the current pressures on the hospital system, which particularly impact on EDs and the recommendations of the Health System Capacity Review, I have asked the HSE to identify the location and mix of beds across the hospital system which can be opened in 2018 and into 2019 and 2020 to alleviate overcrowding in our hospital EDs and improve preparedness for Winter 2018/2019.
The Department has received proposals from the HSE, which identify an additional 600 acute beds and 270 residential care beds to be phased in between 2018 and 2020. These proposals are being considered.
Between January and July 2018, total attendances were up 3.5% and admissions up 1.6%, compared to the same period in 2017. For those over 75, attendances rose by 5.6% and admissions by 5.2%, compared to the same period in 2017.
Regarding the specific issue raised by the Deputy, there were a total of 578 patients recorded as waiting on trolleys at 8 a.m. in Tallaght University Hospital ED in July 2018, as compared with 280 in July 2017, an increase of 106%.
The daily average number of patients recorded as waiting on trolleys at 8 a.m. during July 2018 was about 19, as compared with a daily average of 9 in July 2017.
In relation to August 2017, there were 452 patients recorded as waiting on trolleys at 8 a.m., which equates to a daily average of about 15.
The figures for August 2018 are still being validated by the HSE and will be available on 13 September. I have asked my Department to update the Deputy when these figures are received.
938. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the details of the operation of home care services across all CHOs; the number of persons allocated a home care package who are still waiting to receive the care; if this is due to funding or lack of carers by CHO; the priority category of each applicant; the length of time they have been waiting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36837/18]
View answer939. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the procedure for home care delivery in CHO area 6; the percentage of care delivered through private operators and through direct HSE employment, respectively; the rationale for which applicants receive which care; the length of time applicants are waiting for care; if this differs according to private or HSE delivery; the details of waiting lists; if there is a prioritisation process; if the waiting list is dependent on budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36838/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 938 and 939 together.
As these are service matters I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
940. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1369 of 24 July 2018, the further length of time a person (details supplied) will be waiting to receive home care hours in view of the fact that the person is priority 1 and has been waiting since March 2018 for the care allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36839/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
941. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health the number of children across the country who are awaiting an assessment of need including an assessment for autism spectrum disorder by county or on an aggregate national basis in tabular form; the number waiting for greater than six months as set out in the Disability Act 2005; the number waiting by bands (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36840/18]
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.
942. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health the number of children across the country who are awaiting speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy by county or on an aggregate national basis, by each therapy; the waiting lists by service providers; the number waiting by bands (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36841/18]
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.
943. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Cork was placed on the waiting list for autotics; the position of the person on the waiting list; when the person will be provided with the autotics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36847/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.
944. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Cork was placed on the waiting list for a particular walker; the position of the person on the waiting list; when the person will be provided with the equipment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36848/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.
