Written Answers Nos. 782-801
782. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health when the progress report on A Healthy Weight for Ireland, the Obesity Policy and Action Plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4042/21]
View answer783. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health the status of the evaluation of A Healthy Weight for Ireland, the Obesity Policy and Action Plan that is being prepared by the Health Research Board Centre for diet and health research, University College Cork; when it will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4043/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 782 and 783 together.
A Healthy Weight for Ireland’, the Obesity Policy and Action Plan (OPAP), was launched in September 2016 under the auspices of the Healthy Ireland agenda. The OPAP covers a 10-year period up to 2025 and aims to reverse obesity trends, prevent health complications and reduce the overall burden for individuals, families, the health system, and the wider society and economy. The Plan recognises that obesity is a complex, multi-faceted problem and needs a multi-pronged solution, with every sector of society playing its part. The OPAP is based on the best available evidence in the Irish and international literature, and is informed by established international models and frameworks.
The progress report on each recommendation of the OPAP has been completed and publication is expected in early February.
The evaluation of the OPAP being carried out by the Health Research Board Centre for Health and Diet Research is well advanced, but it has been delayed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is anticipated that it will be completed and published by the end of April.
784. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 909 of 13 January 2021, if he will provide further detail on the Childhood and Adolescent Obesity Prevention and Treatment Model being developed by the HSE; the aspects of prevention being looked at in this model; if the HSE is working with external stakeholders on this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4044/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
785. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 909 of 13 January 2021, if he will provide further information on the Budget 2021 funded project to develop healthy communities by addressing health and well-being in areas of deprivation; the range of stakeholders being included; the way in which child obesity is being dealt with in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4045/21]
View answerThe Healthy Communities initiative is intended to support health and wellbeing in areas of deprivation through targeted investments in health and wellbeing interventions in areas of greatest need. It will involve a partnership approach with a broad range of stakeholders, including government departments, the Health Service Executive, local government, local Community Development Organisations and voluntary groups. There will be a particular emphasis on areas with the highest proportion of young families. The initiative will leverage existing cross sectoral community-based assets and strengthen cross sectoral partnerships.
Child obesity is a key priority under the cross-governmental Obesity Policy and Action Plan, as is reducing the inequalities seen in obesity rates. It is clear that areas suffering socio-economic disadvantage suffer from higher overweight and obesity rates in all age groups, as well as worse outcomes under other health indicators such as physical activity and smoking. The Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative Report round 5, published in October 2020, found that, while childhood obesity rates overall were stabilising, this was not the case in relation to socio-economically deprived areas. The targeted approach of the Healthy Communities initiative aims to address the social determinants of health in a co-ordinated way in order to bring about improved health outcomes across a range of interrelated indicators, of which child obesity is an important element. This will include leveraging and expanding existing programmes such as parenting programmes, Healthy Food Made Easy and Making Every Contact Count. The initiative is still being developed in consultation with stakeholders, but it is intended that it will be implemented in a number of sites in 2021.
786. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to HSE employees, specifically workers in area (details supplied) being requested to attend on site for work during the current level 5 lockdown to complete work which they are able to do remotely and carried out remotely during previous lockdowns. [4046/21]
View answerIn line with the Government’s advice, public health service employers and managers are required to ensure that employees whose roles can be done remotely are facilitated to work from home during this period to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and restrict footfall at the workplace to the greatest extent possible. Only those employees whose physical attendance at the workplace is essential should be in the work premises.
I understand that the HSE have this week issued a HR Memo reinforcing this point in relation to Attendance in the work premises/ Working from home during Level 5 restrictions.
I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy in relation to the Primary Care Reimbursement Service.
787. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health the specific funding streams available to local authorities to apply for; the amount that has been given by county; the amount awarded under each scheme in each of the years 2018 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4058/21]
View answerFunding is drawn down by a small number of local authorities from the Drugs Initiative subhead. However, this is for Local and Regional Drugs Taskforces. The funding goes to a small number of local authorities because these specific authorities control the funds for taskforces in their area. This funding came to €348,000 in 2020, having been €282,000 in both 2019 and 2018.
Funding for homeless services is provided by the HSE for local councils. This is on an ad-hoc basis and the information on this is available from the HSE.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland provide Local Authority Veterinary Service funding. The details of this scheme are available from the FSAI.
Table:
|
- |
Cost Centre |
Project |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|
|
Dublin City Council |
Local Drug Task Forces Funding |
LDTF - Ballymun |
Community Alcohol Strategy |
97,000.00 |
97,000.00 |
163,140.00 |
|
LDTF - Canal Communities |
Dolphin House CDA (Development Worker) |
11,317.00 |
11,317.00 |
11,317.00 |
||
|
Fatima Groups United (Development Worker) |
11,317.00 |
11,317.00 |
11,317.00 |
|||
|
St Michael's Family Resource Centre (Development Worker) |
11,317.00 |
11,317.00 |
11,317.00 |
|||
|
Fingal Co Council |
Emerging Drugs Needs Funding |
LDTF - Blanchardstown |
Community Policing Forum |
53,154.00 |
53,154.00 |
53,154.00 |
|
South Dublin County Council |
Local Drug Task Forces Funding |
LDTF - Tallaght |
Fettercairn Community Safety Forum |
24,250.00 |
24,250.00 |
24,250.00 |
|
Killinarden Community Safety Forum |
24,250.00 |
24,250.00 |
24,250.00 |
|||
|
LDTF - Clondalkin |
Nth Clondalkinn Community Safety Forum |
24,746.00 |
24,746.00 |
24,746.00 |
||
|
South West Clondalkin Community Safety Forum |
24,746.00 |
24,746.00 |
24,746.00 |
|||
|
Total |
282,097 |
282,097 |
348,237.00 |
788. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health when a child (details supplied) will receive an assessment of needs. [4066/21]
View answerThe Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, recognises the need to improve services for both children and adults with disabilities through better implementation and by working together across Government in a better way.
The Government commits to prioritising early diagnosis and access to services for children and ensuring that the most effective interventions are provided for each child, to guarantee the best outcomes.
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
789. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the average waiting time to see a cardiothoracic surgeon at St. James's Hospital Dublin. [4067/21]
View answerIt is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last year as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HSE is currently recommending that only critical time dependent elective procedures are undertaken at this time due to the on-going and significant increased demand for bed capacity related to Covid-19.
This decision was made arising from the rapid increase in Covid-19 admissions and to ensure patient safety and that all appropriate resources were made available for Covid-19 related activity and time-critical essential work.
Patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically-aligned and prioritised way, hospitals are following HSE clinical guidelines and protocols.
The National Waiting List Management Policy is a standardised approach used by the HSE to manage scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures. It sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists and was developed in 2014 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.
The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) have advised my Department that as of the end of December 2020 the average waiting time to see a Cardiothoracic Surgeon (Outpatient Consultant) at St James’s Hospital Dublin is 30 days.
790. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the average waiting times to see a consultant maxillofacial surgeon at St. James's Hospital Dublin. [4068/21]
View answerIt is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last year as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HSE is currently recommending that only critical time dependent elective procedures are undertaken at this time due to the on-going and significant increased demand for bed capacity related to Covid-19.
This decision was made arising from the rapid increase in Covid-19 admissions and to ensure patient safety and that all appropriate resources were made available for Covid-19 related activity and time-critical essential work.
Patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically-aligned and prioritised way, hospitals are following HSE clinical guidelines and protocols.
The National Waiting List Management Policy is a standardised approach used by the HSE to manage scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures. It sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists and was developed in 2014 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.
The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) have advised my Department that as of the end of December 2020 the average waiting time to see a Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon (Outpatient Consultant) at St James’s Hospital Dublin is 517 days.
791. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health the position of adults with special needs on the Covid-19 vaccination list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4079/21]
View answerThe COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy sets out a provisional list of groups for vaccination. The Strategy was developed by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) and my Department, endorsed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), and approved by Government on 8 December 2020.
Vaccine allocation is a matter for my Department and further information is available here: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/39038-provisional-vaccine-allocation-groups/.
The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is the responsibility of the HSE.
The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to ensure, over time, that vaccine will become available to vaccinate all of those for whom the vaccine is indicated. Given that there will be initially limited vaccines available, it will take some time for all to receive those vaccines and that has necessitated an allocation strategy to ensure that those most at risk of death and serious illness receive the vaccine first.
The priority is to first vaccinate and protect directly the most vulnerable amongst us, that is, those most likely to have a poor outcome if they contract the virus. The priority is to directly use vaccines to save lives and reduce serious illness, hence the focus on the over 65 year old cohort in long term residential care facilities, and healthcare workers in frontline services often caring for the most vulnerable.
All of the groups will be covered as further vaccine supplies become available and the immunisation programme is rolled out nationally.
The evidence will be kept under review and the allocation groups may be updated, where necessary, in light of new evidence.
792. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Health the status of the promised supply scheme for medical cannabis. [4081/21]
View answerThe purpose of the Medicinal Cannabis Access Programme is to facilitate compassionate access to cannabis for medical reasons, where conventional treatment has failed.
Ultimately it will be the decision of the medical consultant, in consultation with their patient, to prescribe a particular treatment, including a cannabis-based treatment, for a patient under their care.
Once suitable medical cannabis products are made available by suppliers, the Access Programme will make it possible for a medical consultant to prescribe a listed cannabis-based treatment for a patient under his or her care for the following medical conditions, where the patient has failed to respond to standard treatments:
- spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis
- intractable nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy
- severe, refractory (treatment-resistant) epilepsy.
Currently four products have been added to the programme. Further products are currently being assessed and if assessed as acceptable, will be added to the schedule of products for future inclusion in the Programme.
Prescribers (medical consultants on the specialist register) will be able to prescribe cannabis for medical use to patients as set out in the legislation. It is important to understand that it will only be possible for specialist consultants to prescribe a specified controlled drug (medical cannabis products) under the Access Programme, once suppliers make these products available on the Irish market. Prescribers should also refer to the clinical guidelines prepared by the Expert Reference Group, available on the Department of Health Website. The Medicinal Cannabis Access Programme has been included in the HSE Service Plan 2021. The HSE will establish and maintain an electronic register for the Medical Cannabis Access Programme to facilitate the enrolment and recording of certain data including patient identifiers (in anonymised format), prescribers enrolled in the programme, as well as prescribed / supplied medical cannabis products. Registered patients will be able get their prescribed products from a community pharmacy.
793. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of an application for a primary medical certificate by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4090/21]
View answerThe Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Scheme comes under the remit of the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners. The extent of the involvement of Health Service Executive (HSE) personnel in the Scheme relates to making a professional clinical determination as to whether an individual applicant meets the specified medical criteria for a Primary Medical Certificate, which is a requirement for the Scheme. This determination is undertaken by Senior Medical Officers for the relevant HSE Community Health Organisation on behalf of the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners.
The Deputy may be aware that following a Supreme Court decision of June 2020, the assessment process for Primary Medical Certificates was suspended at the request of the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe T.D.. Following the approval of the Finance Act 2020 which provides for the medical criteria in primary legislation, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, T.D., issued an instruction to the Chief Executive Officer of the HSE to the effect that Primary Medical Certificate assessments can recommence with effect from 1st January, 2021.
Separately, the ability to hold assessments may be impacted by, among other things, the public health restrictions in place and the role of the HSE Medical Officers in the roll out of the COVID vaccination programme. I understand that the HSE is considering the matter of Primary Medical Certificate assessments in the context of their revision of the HSE recovery and restoration plans, taking into account the pressures and challenges to the health services presented by COVID.
As the specific case referenced by the Deputy is a service matter, I have arranged to have the correspondence referred to the HSE for consideration and direct reply to the Deputy.
794. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the primary care centres to be provided including the priority list and the delivery model for each in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4093/21]
View answerAs the HSE has responsibility for the provision, along with the maintenance and operation of Primary Care Centres and other Primary Care facilities, the Executive has been asked to reply directly to the Deputy.
795. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Health when County Carlow based paramedics will get the Covid-19 vaccine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4097/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly.
796. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health if supports are available to access PPE by persons who are caring for an elderly person or a person with a disability in their home who has contracted Covid-19 in order to protect the carer. [4113/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
797. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health if a course (details supplied) can be delivered online whilst Covid-19 restrictions are in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4125/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
798. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the status of employer contribution pensions for section 39 agency workers in view of concerns raised by some workers that their contributions are not being matched as had previously been the case. [4144/21]
View answerSection 39 organisations are not public service bodies and their employees are not public servants.
I therefore have no role in relation to the terms and conditions of employment, including employer pension contributions, in relation to Section 39 bodies.
Where an employee of a Section 39 organisation requires clarification in relation to his/her terms and conditions of employment, this should be raised directly with the employer.
799. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the number of full-time midwives working in the maternity department of Cavan General Hospital in each of the past five years in tabular form. [4170/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
800. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the budget and revenue expenditure for Cavan General Hospital in each of the years 2017 to 2020. [4171/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
801. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health his plans to provide CBD oil under the medical card scheme; and the means of reimbursement for the cost or part of same in circumstances in which it is prescribed by a doctor. [4179/21]
View answerThe HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicinal products under the community drug schemes, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013.
In June 2019, the Minister for Health signed legislation to underpin the operation of the Medical Cannabis Access Programme (MCAP). This is a 5-year pilot programme, restricted to prescribing of cannabis-based products by medical consultants, for patients with certain medical conditions who have exhausted all other available medical treatment options.
Those conditions are:
- Spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis
- Intractable nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy
- Severe, refractory (treatment-resistant) epilepsy.
For more information relating to the MCAP, including FAQs, please see the Department of Health’s website at the following link.
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/90ece9-medical-cannabis-access-programme/
Commercial suppliers whose cannabis products have been reviewed and are considered to have met the specified requirements set out in the legislation and are in line with the clinical guidance for the MCAP, will have their products added to Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs (Prescription and Control of Supply of Cannabis for Medical Use) Regulations 2019. Once the products are listed in Schedule 1 of these Regulations the suppliers will be permitted to supply these products to the Irish market, in line with legal and regulatory requirements. Cannabis products will only be listed in Schedule 1 of the Regulations once they have been assessed as suitable for medical use under the MCAP.
To date products have been added to Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs (Prescription and Control of Supply of Cannabis for Medical Use) Regulations 2019. The four products are:
1. Aurora High CBD Oil Drops
2. CannEpil ™
3. Tilray Oral Solution THC10:CBD10 25ml
4. Aurora Sedamen Softgels.
The HSE has engaged in discussions with the suppliers of these products, regarding pricing and supply information. The HSE will consider such information, in line with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013.
The programme will not become fully operational until pricing and supply matters are agreed.
Once the Medical Cannabis Access Programme commences the HSE will establish and maintain a Register to facilitate the enrolment and recording of certain data including patient identifiers (in anonymised format), prescribers enrolled in the Programme, as well as prescribed / supplied medical cannabis products.
Pending full operation of the MCAP and for medical indications not included in the MCAP, doctors may continue to utilise the Ministerial licencing route to prescribe medical cannabis for their patients, should they wish to do so.
In line with the Chief Medical Officer's advice, the granting of a licence for cannabis for medical purposes must be premised on an appropriate application being submitted to the Department of Health, which is endorsed by a consultant who is responsible for the management of the patient and who is prepared to monitor the effects of the treatment over time. This information can be found at the following links:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/1a5c4e-applying-to-the-minister-for-health-for-a-medical-cannabis-licence/
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/e35cb4-ministerial-licence-application-process/
It is important to note that the medical decision to prescribe or not prescribe any treatment, including cannabis treatment, for an individual patient is strictly a decision for the treating clinician, in consultation with their patient. The Minister for Health has no role in this clinical decision-making process.
