Joe Carey
Question:971. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Health his plans to approve and to use a vaccine (details supplied) in the current Covid-19 vaccination programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21607/21]
View answerVaccination Programme
Questions (971, 972)
Dara Calleary
Question:972. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health the situation regarding the regulatory approval of a vaccine (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21608/21]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 971 and 972 together.
Ireland supports the EU Procurement Process, the purpose of which is to secure safe and efficacious vaccines for EU citizens.
Covid 19 vaccines can only be approved and used if they comply with all the requirements of quality, safety and efficacy set out in the EU pharmaceutical legislation. No vaccine will be used until Market authorisation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is obtained and any authorised vaccine will be subject to ongoing monitoring in Ireland by the Health Product Regulatory Authority (HPRA).
The delivery of vaccines under APAs that the Commission has negotiated on behalf of Member States are predicated upon a CMA being obtained from the Commission (on the basis of a positive recommendation being awarded by the EMA).
The awarding of a CMA provides a high level of assurance that a vaccine has undergone rigorous testing and has met the requirements of the independent regulatory process as regards demonstrating its safety and efficacy.
The Sinopharm vaccine has not been awarded a CMA to date.
Question No. 973 answered with Question No. 850.
Hospital Appointments Status
Questions (974)
Michael Healy-Rae
Question:974. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21613/21]
View answerWritten answers
It 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.
Elective hospital care was curtailed for the first quarter of 2021, in line with the rapid increase in Covid -19 hospital admissions, with only critical time dependent elective procedures undertaken.
On 23 March the HSE published the “Safe Return to Health Services Plan”. This plan outlines a three phased approach for the proposed restoration of services across Community Services, Acute Hospital Operations, Cancer Services and Screening Services. It sets target times for their safe return and details the conditions and challenges that will have to be met. Every phase of the plan has been informed by clinical guidance and putting patient and staff safety first. Decisions in relation to the type and volume of activity will be made at site level based on local COVID-19 numbers, available capacity and guidance from national clinical leads.
The schedule outlined in the plan for resumption of services will be regularly monitored by the HSE and updated as appropriate, dependant on public health advice and healthcare capacity.
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.
Under 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 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.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Health Services Staff
Questions (975)
Cormac Devlin
Question:975. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health the status of the resolution of the public health doctors and consultant deal in particular the terms for roll-out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21630/21]
View answerWritten answers
Our Public Health Doctors have been to the forefront of our response to the pandemic and the role of the public health doctor has transitioned very rapidly from one of leading small, confined teams, to now leading and directing the activities of a very broad range of organisations and large multidisciplinary teams. They have made an enormous contribution to the protection of everybody living in Ireland.
The past year has highlighted the critical national importance of an appropriately resourced public health workforce, and through the Covid-19 Path Ahead Plan, this Government has committed to investment in, and resourcing of public health and the delivery of a strengthened and reformed consultant-delivered public health model.
An Agreement has been reached with the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) that will support the implementation of a fundamentally reformed public health model at a national and regional level which is aligned with international best practice.
The IMO have recommended the agreement to their members (Public Health Specialists and Trainees) and it is expected to go to ballot shortly.
Each specialist working on the frontline of our response deserves huge credit for what they have done. The pandemic has had very significant implications for how public health medicine is organised and managed and our public health specialists have responded to every request made of them.
A considerable amount of work has been completed in the design of the new model and we are excited to continue to work with our public health physicians to now implement the new model.
Covid-19 Pandemic
Questions (976)
Colm Burke
Question:976. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the number of persons that died with Covid-19 from 1 February 2020 to 15 of April 2021, by county; the number that died in private nursing homes, HSE nursing homes and congregated settings by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21654/21]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Mental Health Services
Questions (977)
David Cullinane
Question:977. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of cases in which patients of mental health services were prescribed excessive amounts of medication in the previous five years, by county; the types of medication which were excessively prescribed; if there have been incidents of harm as a result of this; if so, the number of cases and extent of harm; the safeguards in place to prevent this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21658/21]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Covid-19 Pandemic
Questions (978)
Peadar Tóibín
Question:978. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the expenditure incurred for HSE nursing homes in the management of Covid-19 to date; the geographical distribution of the funding; and the number of HSE nursing homes that have received funding. [21662/21]
View answerWritten answers
As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health service executive to respond to the deputy directly as soon as possible.
Covid-19 Pandemic
Questions (979)
James Lawless
Question:979. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Health when the restrictions on maternity hospitals will be lifted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21666/21]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Covid-19 Pandemic
Questions (980)
Brendan Howlin
Question:980. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Health if it is possible for a pregnant Irish citizen working in Dubai who plans to travel from Dubai in June 2021 and has been advised by their medical team not to have a vaccine to avoid the mandatory hotel quarantine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21667/21]
View answerWritten answers
Mandatory hotel quarantine has been introduced as one element of Ireland’s public health measures to combat the transmission of COVID-19 variants of concern.
The Health Act 1947, as amended, provides that all persons arriving in Ireland from a designated state, or having travelled through a designated state in the previous 14 days, are required to undergo mandatory quarantine in a designated facility unless they are an exempted traveller under the Act. All applicable travellers must reserve and pay for a place in mandatory hotel quarantine.
Mandatory hotel quarantine is also necessary in circumstances where passengers coming from non-designated states do not provide evidence that they have a negative or ‘not detected’ result from a COVID-19 Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test carried out no more than 72 hours before arrival into Ireland.
The provisions of the Act allow for travellers to request a review of decisions relating to their quarantine in a designated facility; however, this can only be undertaken once quarantine has begun. Requests for review are submitted to the State Liaison Officer present in each designated facility and are considered by independent appeals officers. Decisions on requests for review are provided within a 24-hour period. The State Liaison Officer (Irish Defence Forces) in the hotel provides passengers with information on how to apply.
The Act identifies those who are exempt from mandatory hotel quarantine, and a full list of exemptions can be accessed on gov.ie/quarantine.
Exemptions for medical reasons pertain to a person who travels to the State for an unavoidable, imperative and time sensitive medical reason and that reason is certified by a person who is a registered medical practitioner or a person holding an equivalent qualification outside the State. Applicable travellers must produce all relevant documentation on arrival to qualify for an exemption.
The safety, wellbeing and comfort of all guests quarantining in a designated facility is a priority of the mandatory quarantine system, along with protecting people living in Ireland from COVID-19 variants of concern.
All guests undergoing mandatory hotel quarantine have access to a 24/7 on-site healthcare team during their stay. Guests requiring any specific, urgent or emergency care which cannot be provided on-site may also be referred to a dedicated medical facility by the on-site healthcare team.
Neither I as Minister for Health nor my Department have any role in decisions relating to whether individual persons must enter mandatory quarantine or whether individual persons are exempted travellers. All such decisions are to be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
Questions Nos. 981 to 984, inclusive, answered with Question No. 914.
Vaccination Programme
Questions (985)
Johnny Mythen
Question:985. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive a Covid-19 vaccine. [21683/21]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Treatment Abroad Scheme
Questions (986)
John McGuinness
Question:986. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health the reason funding was refused under the treatment abroad scheme in the case of a person (details supplied) given a previous application was approved on 20 September 2019; if the procedures are available in hospitals here; if so, the hospital that carry out same; if there is a waiting list; if so, the timeframe involved; if he will examine the case of the person as a matter of urgency with a view to ensuring that the two procedures recommended by their consultants are expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21684/21]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
HSE Staff
Questions (987)
Matt Carthy
Question:987. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health the number of staff based in speech and language therapy that are currently redeployed to other duties by each CHO; the corresponding figures for each month from March 2020 to March 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21685/21]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Question No. 988 answered with Question No. 914.
Medical Aids and Appliances
Questions (989)
Violet-Anne Wynne
Question:989. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health if he will report on the acquisition of gloves for carers for essential caring purposes given that carers are currently acquiring these without assistance and are being charged up to €20 per box; if his attention has been drawn to such instances occurring; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21694/21]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the deputy as soon as possible.