Written Answers Nos. 311-328
311. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health the quantity of each of the drugs (details supplied) that were manufactured and imported here and exported in each of the years 2011 to the most recent year for which data is available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2351/19]
View answerMy Department does not collate the information requested by the Deputy.
312. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Health the amount spent on prescriptions of specific drugs (details supplied); the number of persons prescribed SSRIs and SNRIs according to the latest data available; the details of which medical professionals are prescribing same, for example, general practitioners, psychiatrists and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2352/19]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the pricing and reimbursement of medicines; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
313. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health his views on whether it is sustainable to charge persons that attend a drug service (details supplied) for prescriptions received at the centre; his views on whether the policy mitigates against persons that have no money to achieve drug rehabilitation; and his plans to change the policy. [2356/19]
View answerBudget 2019 provided for a significant increase in health funding which will assist families with the cost of doctor visits and medicines.
Homeless people in receipt of a medical card can access GP services and get prescribed drugs and medicines. However, as with all holders of a medical card, they are obliged to pay a prescription charge of €2 per item, up to a maximum of €20 per month. These charges can represent a greater financial burden for homeless people in emergency accommodation or who are sleeping rough.
The Department of Health, in conjunction with the HSE, is developing administrative measures that would allow this cohort of the homeless population to be supplied with prescribed drugs and medicines without having to pay the prescription charge.
I welcome the measures to reduce the costs of GP services and drugs for vulnerable groups. I believe it is unfair that homeless people must pay prescription charges and welcome the intention to end these charges in the coming months.
314. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the procedure in cases in which a person under the fair deal scheme and a medical card holder requires transport from a nursing home to their local general hospital for appointments and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2361/19]
View answerThe Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS), commonly referred to as A Fair Deal, is a system of financial support for people who require long-term residential care. Participants contribute to the cost of their care according to their means while the State pays the balance of the cost.
The NHSS covers the cost of the standard components of long-term residential care which are:
- Nursing and personal care appropriate to the level of care needs of the person;
- Bed and board;
- Basic aids and appliances necessary to assist a person with the activities of daily living; and
- Laundry service.
A person's eligibility for other schemes, such as the medical card scheme or the drugs payment scheme, is unaffected by participation in the NHSS or residence in a nursing home. In determining the services covered by the NHSS it was considered very important that the care recipient and the taxpayer would be protected and would not end up paying for the same services twice. For this reason, medications and aids that are already prescribed for individuals under an existing scheme are not included in the services covered by the NHSS, as this would involve effectively paying twice for the same service.
It is important to state that residents of nursing homes should enjoy the same levels of support and access to services as when they lived in their own homes. It is of course acknowledged that the reason they require 24 hour levels of support is due to their level of dependency, which in turn will require inevitably access to clinical services including hospital and other outpatient appointments in the community. The HSE provides for a level of Intermediate Care Vehicles, which are used predominantly for non-emergency transport between acute hospitals for admission and discharge purposes. They would be reserved for those who would need specific support in transport and other than that normal transport arrangements apply. These arrangements (e.g. wheelchair taxi) are normally funded by the individual.
Although the NHSS covers core living expenses, residents can still incur some costs in a nursing home. In recognition of this, anyone in receipt of financial support under the NHSS retains at least 20% of their income. The minimum amount that is retained is the equivalent of 20% of the State Pension (Non-Contributory).
315. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Health if the €9 million for a replacement 50 bed unit at the Sacred Heart Hospital, County Roscommon, has been ring-fenced; if the design team has been approved; if the project is still included in the HSE capital plan 2017 to 2021; the status of the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2362/19]
View answerFollowing the publication of the Health Service Executive's National Service Plan for 2019, the Health Service Executive is currently developing its Capital Plan for 2019. The HSE Capital Plan for 2019 will determine the projects that can progress in 2019 having regard to the available capital funding, the number of large national capital projects currently underway and the relevant priority of each project.
As the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to the appointment of a design team to this capital project at the Sacred Heart Hospital Roscommon.
316. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 380 of 18 December 2018, if he is satisfied with the response of the HSE that it has no records of winning tender proposals being destroyed (details supplied); his views on whether this statement is in contradiction with paragraph 7.3.1 of the Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck Screening Programme published in September 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2364/19]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is currently being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
317. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Health the reason the medical card of a person (details supplied) was recently revoked; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2366/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
318. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Health if the HSE will be requested to include a day care centre for persons with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia in the development of the new facility which will replace existing hospitals in County Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2377/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
319. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health his plans to increase the qualifying income threshold for persons over 70 years of age for a medical card in view of the fact that recent increases in the State pension have resulted in the income of some holders going above the qualifying threshold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2386/19]
View answerUnder the Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) (No. 2) Act 2013, when a person attains the age of 70, the medical card income limits are €500 gross income per week for a single person and €900 gross income per week for a couple. Any revision of these medical card income thresholds requires primary legislation.
Persons aged 70 or older, who are assessed as ineligible under the gross income thresholds, may also have their eligibility assessed under the means-tested medical card scheme if they so wish, for example in the event that they face particularly high expenses, e.g. nursing home or medication costs. This scheme is open to all persons, irrespective of their age and assessment is based on net income and assessable outgoing expenses. The general scheme, although having lower income thresholds, provides for income disregards and relevant outgoings to be taken into account in the assessment process.
Furthermore, persons, including those aged over 70 years, may be deemed eligible for a medical card on a discretionary basis, if they are judged to face undue hardship in arranging GP services as a result of medical or social circumstances. In addition, from August 2015, all persons aged 70 or older qualify for a GP Visit Card, regardless of income.
Budget 2019 provided for increases in a number of social welfare payments which are intended to come into effect in March 2019. It would be the Government's intention that people's ability to qualify for a medical card would not be adversely affected by this increase. I have asked the HSE to monitor the situation and to advise me if it considers that changes in the rates of social welfare payments may affect people's ability to qualify for a medical card.
There are no proposals at present to amend the current income limits for the granting of eligibility for medical cards for persons aged 70 and over. However, it should be noted that the gross income limits are reviewed annually and considered in the context of the budget.
320. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Health the number and the length of time persons are awaiting a DEXA scan in Naas Hospital in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2390/19]
View answerIn relation to the length of time persons are waiting on a DEXA scan in Naas Hospital, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.
321. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Health the reason services have been suspended in Naas Hospital for DEXA scans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2391/19]
View answer322. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Health if the suspension of DEXA scanning services at Naas Hospital will be reversed; his plans for the service in Naas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2392/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 321 and 322 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
323. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Health the status of a procedure for a person (details supplied). [2393/19]
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.
324. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the number of referrals to CAMHS made between January and December 2018; the number of referrals accepted by CAMHS in the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2396/19]
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 James Browne asked the Minister for Health if the delivery of the second cath lab at University Hospital Waterford will be delayed in view of the significant increase in costs of the national children’s hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2397/19]
View answerI remain committed to the provision of a second cath lab in University Hospital Waterford. It is intended that the cost of progressing the project to design, planning and construction stages will be considered in the context of the HSE’s Capital Plan for 2019, which is currently being finalised.
A National Review of Specialist Cardiac Services is currently underway. The aim of this Review is to achieve optimal patient outcomes at population level with particular emphasis on the safety, quality and sustainability of the services that patients receive by establishing the need for an optimal configuration of a national adult cardiac service. As set out in the National Development Plan 2018-2027, investment in cardiac cath labs and other cardiac services infrastructure nationally will be informed by the outcome of the National Review, which is expected to be complete by June 2019.
326. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health if the rare diseases technology review committee plans to review a drug (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2398/19]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the pricing and reimbursement of medicines; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
327. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Health the status of the provision a new MRI scanner at the Midlands Regional Hospital, Mullingar. [2401/19]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
328. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the number of ambulances covering all of the major towns in County Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2402/19]
View answerAs this is a service issue, I have asked the HSE to reply to you directly.
