Written Answers Nos. 403-420
403. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Health the reason suitably qualified counsellors and psychotherapists cannot be facilitated with special type consultation, special service or out-of-hours payment systems similar to general practitioners (details supplied) in County Kerry. [4216/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
404. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health the timeframe for the implementation of the changes to the fair deal scheme agreed some months ago; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4217/19]
View answerThe proposed policy change to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, NHSS, to cap contributions from farm assets at three years where a family successor commits to working the productive asset, has been approved by Government. My Department is working on the development of draft heads of bill while considering a number of complex ancillary policy and operational matters which may need to be addressed in the proposed legislation.
It is intended that this proposed policy change, the three-year cap, will be extended to eligible existing participants in long-term residential care so that they are not disadvantaged, but that there would be no retrospective recoupment of contributions for those who have paid contributions over and above the three-year period.
A draft General Scheme of a Bill is currently with legal advisers for advice and legal quality control review. Subject to legal advice, I expect to bring the heads of bill to Government soon. The changes to the Scheme will come into effect in 2019 subject to the legislative process.
405. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Health when 2019 budget allocations will be made known to the charitable disability organisations in order that a person (details supplied) with a disability can take up a position within the disability services sector in view of the fact that the service is currently being curtailed due to the lack of available funding and budget allocations from the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4218/19]
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.
406. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a person (details supplied) in receipt of the fair deal nursing home support grant was billed after the person transferred from one nursing home to a new facility. [4219/19]
View answerThe Nursing Homes Support Scheme, NHSS, commonly referred to as 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 Scheme aims to ensure that long-term nursing home care is accessible and affordable for everyone and that people are cared for in the most appropriate settings.
Applicants to the scheme can choose any public, voluntary or approved private nursing home. However, in order for financial support to be provided, the nursing home must have an available bed and be able to cater for the applicant's care needs.
As per the Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2013, a discharge shall be discussed, planned for and agreed with a resident and, where appropriate, with their family or carer, and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract agreed in accordance with Regulation 24.
Where an issue arises with respect to an individual nursing home, the procedure in place and the best course of action is to engage with the nursing home itself, specifically through its complaints process. Each nursing home is required, by law, to have a written complaints procedure and to make this clearly available to residents. Nursing homes are required to investigate all complaints promptly and to provide the complainant with the outcome of the investigation promptly, along with providing an appeal mechanism.
If the person is unhappy with how his or her complaint has been processed, he or she can then escalate the complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman, who will examine the issue on their behalf. There is no charge for this, however, typically the Office of the Ombudsman requires that the person in question has first engaged with the nursing home through the defined complaints process.
407. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health the reason certain medications have been taken off the medical card scheme list of medications for a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [4220/19]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the administration of the community drug schemes; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
408. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Health if access under the long-term illness scheme will be expanded to include all persons with ulcerative colitis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4224/19]
View answerThe Long-Term Illness, 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 at this time. However, I wish to inform the Deputy that it is proposed that the LTI Scheme would be included as part of a review of the basis for existing hospital and medication charges, to be carried out under commitments given in the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy.
409. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) with a diagnosis of cancer will be refunded the cost of the chemotherapy drugs which the person incurred during an application for a medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4228/19]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the administration of the community drug schemes; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
410. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health if the finance required to progress the proposed second catheterisation laboratory project at University Hospital Waterford to design, planning and construction stages will be made available under the capital plan of the HSE for 2019; and when the capital plan will be published. [4229/19]
View answerFollowing the publication of the Health Service Executive's National Service Plan for 2019, the HSE is currently developing its Capital Plan for 2019. The HSE Capital Plan 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. The requirements of University Hospital Waterford and other health capital projects, currently at various stages of development, are being considered as part of this process. Once the HSE has finalised its Capital Plan for 2019, it will then be submitted to me for consideration.
411. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health if an assessment has been made as to whether the modular catheterisation laboratory at University Hospital Waterford could be upgraded to both diagnostic and interventional capabilities pending the provision of a second permanent catheterisation laboratory. [4230/19]
View answerIn 2016, the Herity Report concluded that the needs of the effective catchment population of University Hospital Waterford, UHW, could be accommodated from a single cath lab and recommended that the operating hours of the existing cath lab should be extended. Approval and funding has been provided for the additional staff required to facilitate this service expansion and five staff (Grade IV Admin, Porter, Senior Cardiac Physiologist, Senior Radiographer and Staff Nurse) have now been recruited on an 8 am to 8 pm working day basis. Furthermore, the recruitment of a cardiologist to facilitate an increase in the operating hours of the existing cath lab is also being progressed by the HSE.
A mobile cath lab has also been deployed at UHW since October 2017 to conduct diagnostic cardiac procedures. In Autumn 2018, it was replaced with a relocatable cath lab, operating on the same basis as the mobile cath lab, i.e. it carries out diagnostic cardiology procedures only. The contractual arrangements currently in place at UHW are for the provision of a unit capable of carrying out diagnostic cardiac procedures only.
I 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.
The Herity Report also recommended that the current 9-to-5 provision of emergency PPCI services should cease to allow the hospital focus on the much larger volume of planned work. I asked my Department to address the implications of this recommendation by undertaking a National Review of Specialist Cardiac Services. 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.
412. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Health if recommended timelines for the provision of additional facilities or staff contained in the national review of cardiology services scheduled to be completed by June 2019 will be affected or informed by the expenditure implications arising from the new national children's hospital. [4231/19]
View answerThe National Review of Specialised Cardiac Services is currently ongoing and it is expected that the work will be completed by the end of June 2019. A report on the review will then be published. As I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, given that the review is currently ongoing, it would be inappropriate for me to predetermine any outcomes or recommendations that may ultimately emerge from the National Review. Separately, the Health Service Executive is currently developing its Capital Plan for 2019. The HSE Capital Plan will determine the projects that can progress in 2019 having regard to the available capital funding, the number of large national capital projects currently under way and the relevant priority of each project. The requirements of the new children's hospital and other health capital projects, currently at various stages of development, are being considered as part of this process.
413. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the legislation, including heads of Bills, from his Department which has been sent to EU institutions before publication for the period of the thirty-second Dáil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4251/19]
View answerThe information requested is currently being compiled by my Department and will be provided to the Deputy as soon as possible.
414. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of requests made by general practitioners on behalf of patients seeking to have lidocaine plasters made available through the community drugs scheme by county since 2017; and the number of outstanding requests made by general practitioners that have not been responded to in tabular form. [4271/19]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the administration of the community drug schemes; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
415. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of patients whose general practitioners have prescribed lidocaine from 2017 and requested that the treatment be made available under the community drugs scheme in tabular form. [4272/19]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the administration of the community drug schemes; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
416. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if he will review the case of a person (details supplied); the requirements in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4273/19]
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 an individual case, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive, HSE, for direct reply to the Deputy.
417. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the criteria used by the Louth and Meath child and adolescent mental health services to accept a child into the service. [4276/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
418. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the range and type of conditions that the Louth and Meath child and adolescent mental health services deem not to be relevant or that do not warrant admission or assessment into the services; the reasons for these decisions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4277/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
419. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the risk assessment used to refuse a child admission into the Louth and Meath child and adolescent mental health services; and the process used such as MDT meetings. [4278/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
420. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the advice given to parents and guardians and referrers as to further referral pathways available to children refused access to the Louth and Meath child and adolescent mental health services. [4279/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
