Written Answers Nos. 169-188
169. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of consultant positions advertised by the Dublin Midlands hospital group to date in 2019; the speciality of each advertised position; if each position has been filled; and the number of applications for each speciality in tabular form. [52238/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly, as soon as possible.
170. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of consultant positions advertised by the South/South West hospital group to date in 2019; the speciality of each advertised position; if each position has been filled; and the number of applications for each speciality in tabular form. [52239/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly as soon as possible
171. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of consultant positions advertised by the University Limerick hospital group to date in 2019; the speciality of each advertised position; if each position has been filled; and the number of applications for each speciality in tabular form. [52240/19]
View answerAs this is a service issue, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply.
172. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of nursing positions vacant in the Ireland East hospital group as of 6 December 2019, in tabular form. [52241/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly, as soon as possible
173. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of nursing positions vacant in the RCSI hospital group as of 6 December 2019, in tabular form. [52242/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly as soon as possible.
174. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of nursing positions vacant in the Children’s Health Ireland hospital group as of 6 December 2019, in tabular form. [52243/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly, as soon as possible.
175. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of nursing positions vacant in the Saolta hospital group as of 6 December 2019, in tabular form. [52244/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly, as soon as possible.
176. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of nursing positions vacant in the Dublin Midlands hospital group as of 6 December 2019, in tabular form. [52245/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly, as soon as possible.
177. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of nursing positions vacant in the South/South West hospital group as of 6 December 2019, in tabular form. [52246/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly as soon as possible
178. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of nursing positions vacant in the University Limerick hospital group as of 6 December 2019, in tabular form. [52247/19]
View answerAs this is a service issue, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply.
179. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the most recent projection on the number of medical cards to be provided in 2019; and the likely full year costs or savings in 2019 in the case of a variation from the projection. [52248/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
180. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the percentage occupancy rate in public residential care units for the most recent calendar month available and for the previous eleven months in tabular form. [52249/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
181. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of community healthcare organisations that have established waiting lists for home care on a standardised basis. [52250/19]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
182. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the percentage of serious reportable events being notified within 24 hours to a designated officer. [52251/19]
View answer183. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the percentage of mandatory investigations commenced within 48 hours of the event occurring. [52252/19]
View answer184. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the percentage of mandatory investigations completed within four months of notification of the event occurring. [52253/19]
View answer185. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the percentage of reportable events to date in 2019 that have been reported within 30 days of occurrence to the designated officer. [52254/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 182 to 185, inclusive, together.
As these are service matters and the data is collated by the HSE, the questions have been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy. This reply was taken as a composite with 52252/19, 52253/19 and 52254/19.
The Department of Health takes the management of patient safety very seriously. In November 2015, the Government approved a major programme of patient safety reforms which included the establishment of a National Patient Safety Office (NPSO) in the Department of Health. The NPSO was established in December 2016 to oversee a programme of patient safety measures. The programme of patient safety centres on initiatives such as the establishment of a national patient advocacy service, the introduction of a patient safety surveillance system, the measurement of patient experience and extending the clinical effectiveness agenda.
The Department is currently progressing a number of pieces of legislation which seek to enhance the safety and quality of the provision of health care services. This includes the Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill which will ensure that providers of health services operate at core standards which are applied in a consistent and systematic way. Under this legislation public and private hospitals and providers of high-risk healthcare activities taking place outside a hospital setting will require a license to operate.
The Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019 was approved by Government on 3 December for publication. This Bill provides for the extension of the remit of the Health Information and Quality Authority, to private hospitals. HIQA will be able to set standards for the operation of private hospitals, monitor compliance and undertake inspections of the services.
In addition, on 25 October 2017, I launched the National Standards on the Conduct of Reviews of Patient Safety Incidents. These standards, developed jointly by HIQA and the Mental Health Commission, set out a new approach to the way health providers respond to, review and investigate incidents in order to determine as quickly as possible what may have transpired, and why, to ensure that they can immediately implement any improvements necessary to prevent a re-occurrence. The HSE in turn developed the Incident Management Framework (2018) to support implementation of these standards.
186. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the examination undertaken of the use of incentives to support investment by general practitioners, dentists and other professionals in primary care centres, technology and service developments [52255/19]
View answerI understand that my colleague the Minister for Finance will respond to you on the use of tax instruments to support investment by health professionals.
At this time, no other incentives are offered to health professionals to encourage investment in Primary Care Centres (PCCs).
Under the Primary Care Centre Infrastructure Programme, there are currently 128 centres operational throughout the country which is an indication of the very significant progress made so far. Furthermore, there is a pipeline of nearly 80 PCC projects that are under construction or development or are in the planning stage, with 21 of them expected to come on stream by the end of 2020.
The delivery of these centres in the years ahead will dovetail with other initiatives as part of the Sláintecare plan to ensure that more healthcare services will be available in the community.
187. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the action taken to support general practitioner practices in disadvantaged urban areas. [52256/19]
View answerThe Agreement concluded with the IMO in May 2019 on a major package of GP contractual reforms will make general practice a more attractive and sustainable career option, to the benefit of both doctors and patients.
The comprehensive service development and reform agreement will see an increase in expenditure on GP services of €210 million annually by 2023, providing significant increases in capitation fees for participating GPs, as well as additional fees and subsidies for new services.
As part of the deal, it has also been agreed that the GP rural practice allowance will be increased in 2020 and that targeted funding of €2 million will be set aside to provide additional support to practices in deprived urban areas.
The Department, the HSE, and the IMO, are now collaborating to determine how the latter arrangement will operate, including the most appropriate basis on which to identify practices requiring additional supports and how the funding can best be used on an ongoing basis from next year.
188. Deputy Stephen Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of general practitioners employed by the HSE on a salaried basis in each year since 2016. [52257/19]
View answerAs this question relates to a service matter, I have arranged for it to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.
