Written Answers Nos. 358-375
358. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Health the qualifications the mediators engaged in the CervicalCheck mediation process are required to hold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39516/18]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy falls under the remit of the State Claims Agency.
I have referred the question to the Agency and my Department will forward the information to the Deputy when received.
359. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing combined oral and other contraceptive options such as the coil, implant, injection and vaginal ring free of charge on prescription; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39517/18]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the pricing and reimbursement of the community drug schemes; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
360. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health his plans to overhaul eye care services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39543/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
361. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a report from an association (details supplied) that it is 50% cheaper for a person to be seen in his or her community than in tertiary care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39544/18]
View answerI am aware of the pre-budget submission and the Better Eye-care for All report of the association(details supplied).
The HSE published the Report of the Primary Care Eye Services Review Group in June 2017. The overall aim of the Review is to reorganise primary care eye services with an increased emphasis on maximising delivery of a comprehensive service at primary care level, thereby also releasing capacity in the acute sector to provide more complex services. This reflects Government policy, which aims to maximise the proportion of people's healthcare needs met in the community.
To support the implementation of the Report, funding of €1m was allocated in 2018 to establish primary care eye teams in South and West Dublin and to further develop the primary care eye team in North Dublin to help alleviate waiting lists.
The level of funding available for my Department for 2019 is being considered as part of the Estimates and budgetary process which is currently underway.
362. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the number of persons in County Louth benefitting from the European Union’s INTERREG IVA programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39545/18]
View answerThe current EU programme, INTERREG V covering the period 2014-2020 has four priority areas, one of which is health. For the health priority, the funding available for the duration of the Programme is €62m, €53m of which is EU funding.
A number of the successful projects will be led by the Health Service Executive on behalf of the Co-Operation and Working Together (CAWT) Partnership. These projects are in the areas of Mental Health, Acute Services; Health and Wellbeing and Children's Services. In addition, CAWT is a partner in a project on Primary Care and Older People which is led by NHS 24 (Scotland).
The Acute Services project, which I believe the Deputy is referring to in his question, is called The Connecting Services, Citizens and Communities Project. It was approved for funding of around €8m by the Special EU Programmes Body Steering Committee. Around 13,000 patients in the border region, including County Louth, will benefit from the implementation of the project.
The project aims to enhance access to high priority medical and surgical interventions for people living far from regional hospital centres. The project aims to modernise acute services provision through the use of new and innovative technologies such as e-health solutions. Remote patient interaction will also be supported through the use of consultation by video conferencing technology. The project has both scheduled and unscheduled care work streams.
I am advised by the HSE that County Louth patients will benefit from a number of aspects of the project including the establishment of a Clinical Decision Unit in Daisyhill Hospital, Newry for unscheduled care; an Emergency Department Improvement Programme; the development of a Dermatology service and an investment in hospital equipment. It is estimated that approximately 500 patients will directly benefit from the Clinical Decision Unit and Dermatology service. In addition all patients attending Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital's Emergency Department should benefit from a stream-lined patient pathway.
363. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the number of children on a waiting list for children’s ophthalmology outpatient services in County Louth in each of the years from 2011 to 2017 and to date in 2018; the number of children waiting three, six, nine, 12 months and in excess of 12 months, respectively, in tabular form. [39546/18]
View answer364. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the number of children on a waiting list for children’s ophthalmology inpatient services in County Louth in each of the years from 2011 to 2017 and to date in 2018; the number of children waiting three, six, nine, 12 and in excess of 12 months, respectively, in tabular form [39547/18]
View answer365. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the number of children on a waiting list for children’s ophthalmology inpatient and outpatient services by county in tabular form. [39548/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 363 to 365, inclusive, together.
Reducing waiting time for patients for hospital operations and procedures is a key priority for the Government and €50 million was provided to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) in 2018 to secure treatment for patients. The Inpatient/Day Case Action Plan, published last April outlines the combined impact of HSE and NTPF activity in 2018.
I have requested the relevant information from the National Treatment Purchase Fund and will revert to the Deputy with a response once the information becomes available.
366. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health his plans to deal with ophthalmology outpatient and inpatient waiting lists in County Louth and other counties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39549/18]
View answerI acknowledge that, nationally, the IPDC and Outpatient waiting lists are a challenge to be addressed in 2018. Waiting times can often unacceptably long and I am conscious of the burden that this places on patients and their families.
Waiting List figures from the NTPF for the end of August show that 47 patients are on the IPDC Ophthalmology Waiting List in Louth County Hospital. All patients are seen within 6 months and 68% of those on the list are waiting 3 months or less. The IPDC Ophthalmology waiting list in Louth County Hospital shows that numbers have decreased by over 32% when compared with the same period last year.
The latest NTPF figures show that there are 40,641 patients on the Ophthalmology Outpatient Waiting List. This shows that there has been a 6.1% increase when compared with the same period last year. There are 715 patients on the combined Ophthalmology Outpatient waiting lists in OLOL and Louth County Hospitals. Nearly 75% of these are waiting less than 9 months and 60% are waiting less than 6 months.
Reducing waiting time for patients for hospital operations and procedures is a key priority for the Government and €50 million was provided to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) in 2018 to secure treatment for patients. The Inpatient/Day Case Action Plan, published last April outlines the combined impact of HSE and NTPF activity in 2018.
The Action Plan places a particular focus on cataract surgery and includes a commitment that the NTPF will provide 5,000 cataract procedures to patients. In addition, the NTPF commits to offer treatment to all clinically suitable patients waiting more than 9 months for a cataract procedure.
The impact of the Action Plan can be seen in the improvements to the National Waiting Lists for Cataracts which have seen a reduction of over 3,100 over the past 13 months. August figures for cataracts show that there are now 6,868 on the waiting list, compared to over 10,000 in July 2017. The number of patients waiting over 9 months for a cataract procedure has gone from over 4,300 in July 2017 to 1,078 in August 2018, with 64% of patients waiting 3 months or less.
The IPDC Ophthalmology waiting list shows that numbers have decreased by almost 20% when compared with the same period last year, and the number of long waiters has decreased by over 56%.
Over the past year, my Department has worked with the HSE and the NTPF to identify sustainable initiatives to improve waiting times. Last year funding was allocated to provide additional capacity at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital which facilitated the expansion of the Hospital’s cataract theatre to three days per week.
A dedicated cataract service commenced at the end of July in Nenagh Hospital. The University of Limerick Hospital Group advise that they expect to deliver 200 cataract procedures by the end of the year and are targeting 2,000 cataract cases for 2019.
My Department, in consultation with the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund, is in the process of finalising an Outpatient Action Plan for the remainder of 2018 which I hope to publish shortly. The Plan will support the HSE’s compliance with their National Service Plan targets, reduce the growth in the number of patients waiting for outpatient services.
Furthermore, the NTPF has recently commenced trialling a number of outpatient interventions, including weekend and out of hours clinics. The NTPF has invited proposals from hospital groups and to date this has resulted in the approval of 12,600 outpatient appointments.
367. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health if, through the HSE, alternative local community arrangements have been provided through the local health offices in County Louth to substitute the sixth class eye health services which have now ceased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39550/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
368. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health his plans to introduce a national eye care scheme for children under 16 years of age. [39551/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
369. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 406 of 11 July 2018, if he has met with an organisation (details supplied); if a report of the meeting will be provided; and if new medications in the treatment of multiple sclerosis will now be made available to patients [39552/18]
View answerOwing to scheduling difficulties, it was not possible for me to meet with MS Ireland in June. However, I am willing to meet with MS Ireland on a mutually convenient date.
370. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding a procedure; and the steps being taken to reduce the waiting time for same [39557/18]
View answerThe 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.
Reducing waiting time for patients for hospital operations and procedures is a key priority for the Government and €50 million was provided to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) in 2018 to secure treatment for patients. The Inpatient/Day Case Action Plan, published last April outlines the combined impact of HSE and NTPF activity in 2018.
Figures from the end of August 2018 show that there are 9,757 fewer patients waiting for IPDC treatment compared to the same period last year.
371. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health the cost of each seminar held on Project Ireland 2040 up to and including September 2018 by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39585/18]
View answerMy Department has not held any seminar on Project Ireland 2040.
372. Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of many persons who have intellectually disabled children regarding the diminution of respite service care at a facility (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39593/18]
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.
The Programme for Partnership Government states that the Government wishes to provide more accessible respite care to facilitate full support for people with a disability.
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.
373. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 773 of 7 September 2018, if the application submitted by hospital management to have the facility reopened has been formally assessed; the details of the application submitted including costings; when a decision will be made in respect of the application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39598/18]
View answerAs previously outlined to the House, my Department has engaged with the HSE this year to identify the location and mix of beds across the hospital system, which can be opened and staffed this year and into 2019 in order to improve preparedness for Winter 2018/2019.
The proposal from the HSE to increase acute and community bed capacity, which identifies 609 acute beds and 290 residential care beds to be phased in between 2018 and 2020, includes a 20-bed short stay ward in Letterkenny University Hospital. This proposal is currently under consideration.
374. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the status of an application for capital funding to redevelop a training facility (details supplied) for adults with intellectual disabilities in County Donegal; when a decision in respect of the application will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39599/18]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond directly you in relation to this matter.
375. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the progress being made to develop a funding package to sustain and meet the long-term funding needs of a facility (details supplied) that provides training services and supports to children with disabilities and their families in County Donegal; if further discussions between the HSE and the service provider are scheduled to take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39600/18]
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.
