Aindrias Moynihan
Question:253. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Health the status of the negotiations of the general practitioner contract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38292/18]
View answerGeneral Practitioner Contracts
Questions (253)
Written answers
The Government is committed to engaging with the representatives of general practitioners on the development of a package of measures and reforms to modernise the 1989 GMS Contract.
Our goal is to develop a contractual framework that has a population health focus, providing in particular for health promotion, disease prevention and for the structured care of chronic conditions. This will enable general practitioners to better meet the needs of patients and will also promote general practice as a viable and rewarding career for both existing doctors and future medical graduates.
Agreement on the delivery of service improvements and contractual reform has the potential to facilitate a substantial increase in the resourcing of general practice on a multi-annual basis.
The Department and the HSE met with the Irish Medical Organisation GP Committee in early May with the State side setting out the mandate agreed by Government under which the consultations were being conducted and the package of measures to be agreed. The Department subsequently wrote to the IMO, at the Organisation’s request, setting out these proposals formally. The IMO responded to the Department by letter on 20 July. The Department and HSE expect to re-engage with GP representatives shortly.
Public Procurement Regulations
Questions (254)
Clare Daly
Question:254. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if a company is owned by a person (details supplied). [38294/18]
View answerWritten answers
As this is an operational issue, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly as soon as possible.
Public Procurement Regulations
Questions (255)
Clare Daly
Question:255. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) has contracted out privately owned companies in which they have an interest to deliver occupational health services to public bodies such as Cork University Hospital or other hospitals in the South/South West hospital group and UCC; and, if so, if this person has declared a conflict of interest to the group and the HSE nationally. [38295/18]
View answerWritten answers
As this is an operational issue, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly as soon as possible.
Public Procurement Regulations
Questions (256)
Clare Daly
Question:256. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the procurement process for contracting employee assistance support in the South/South West hospital group. [38296/18]
View answerWritten answers
As this is an operational issue, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly as soon as possible.
Hospital Groups
Questions (257, 258, 265)
Clare Daly
Question:257. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason the UHL group has a mortgage on its property portfolio in view of the fact that the HSE is not permitted to hold mortgages; and the person who authorised this mortgage and signed off on same. [38297/18]
View answerClare Daly
Question:258. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the person or body that applied for and authorised a bridging loan of behalf of UHL hospital group going back to 2014. [38298/18]
View answerClare Daly
Question:265. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason the taking out of a mortgage and a bridging loan by UHL has not been reported to the director general by the head of estates for the HSE and head of maintenance; and the reason a formal investigation into the way in which and the reason this happened has not been carried out. [38312/18]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 257, 258 and 265 together.
Under the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's Code of Practice for Governance of State Bodies, the Chairperson of the Board of all public bodies, including the HSE, should seek the approval of the relevant Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in advance of any material acquisition or disposal of land, buildings or other material assets proposed by a State body. This also includes long-term leases or purchase of right to use (rather than own) an asset. The information requested by you in relation to the UHL Group and the HSE is not available in my Department. As governance of Hospital Groups falls under the HSE's remit, I have asked the HSE to reply directly to you on this matter.
Public Procurement Regulations
Questions (259, 260, 261)
Clare Daly
Question:259. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if the CEO of UHL or their family members are renting or leasing property to the HSE; and if so, if the CEO has declared this as a conflict of interest. [38299/18]
View answerClare Daly
Question:260. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if the CEO of UHL is a shareholder or holds directorship of a company that owns private property and rents, leases property, space or services to the HSE or its agents. [38300/18]
View answerClare Daly
Question:261. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the university from which the CEO of UHL received the entitlement and award to use the title professor. [38301/18]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 259 to 261, inclusive, together.
I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly on this matter.
Services for People with Disabilities
Questions (262)
Bernard Durkan
Question:262. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the reason the services provided for a person (details supplied) have been terminated without advanced notice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38307/18]
View answerWritten answers
The 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.
Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors
Questions (263)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:263. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the cost of the HSE contribution for approved clinical courses and examinations under the clinical course and examination refund scheme for non-consultant hospital doctors, NCHDs, in 2017. [38308/18]
View answerWritten answers
I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly on this matter.
Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors
Questions (264)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:264. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the cost of the HSE contribution for approved clinical courses and examinations under the clinical course and examination refund scheme for non-consultant hospital doctors, NCHDs, in 2016. [38309/18]
View answerWritten answers
I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly on this matter.
Question No. 265 answered with Question No. 257.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Questions (266)
Timmy Dooley
Question:266. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will have cataract surgery on both eyes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38326/18]
View answerWritten answers
Under 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.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Questions (267)
Dara Calleary
Question:267. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health the number of persons awaiting an initial urology consultation by county; the waiting times for same by county; if he will engage with the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, to address waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38329/18]
View answerWritten answers
The data requested by the Deputy are provided in the excel spreadsheets in the following link.
Improving waiting times for hospital procedures is a key commitment in the Programme for Government and in 2018 €50 million was allocated to the NTPF to provide treatment for patients.
The Inpatient/Day Case Action Plan 2018 which was published in April outlines the combined impact of HSE and NTPF activity in 2018 to reduce the number of patients waiting for treatment. NTPF authorisations are made in respect of the longest waiting patients first.
Key to the delivery of the Action Plan is the ongoing collaboration between the NTPF and the HSE and individual hospitals to identify solutions for long waiting patients. The NTPF will provide funding to the solutions proposed if appropriate. To date this year, the NTPF has approved eight Urology submissions which has resulted in the treatment of over 1,400 patients.
Overall, the Inpatient/Daycase waiting list for Urology has reduced by over 1,100 patients since August 2017 with improvements across the 6-24 month timebands.
Nationally, the Outpatient Waiting List remains a significant challenge to be addressed in 2018. The Outpatient Waiting List for Urology has seen an increase of over 1,700 patients since August 2017.
My Department, in consultation with the HSE and the NTPF, is in the process of finalising an Outpatient Action Plan for the remainder of 2018 which I hope to publish soon. The Plan will include the trialling of a number of NTPF funded interventions, including weekend and out of hours clinics.