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Thursday, 23 Sep 2021

Written Answers Nos. 323-337

Hospital Staff

Questions (323)

Brendan Howlin

Question:

323. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Health if he will provide funding to appoint a 0.5 whole-time equivalent clinical psychologist to each acute hospital diabetes paediatric diabetes team; his views on whether psychosocial support in paediatric diabetes care should be available in each team; the reason there is no access to this support outside of Dublin paediatric diabetes services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45780/21]

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Written answers

The information necessary to answer the Deputy's question is not available at this time. However I have asked the Health Service Executive to provide me with the information and I will respond to the Deputy as soon as it becomes available.

Hospital Staff

Questions (324)

Brendan Howlin

Question:

324. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Health if he will provide funding for a post of clinical psychologist to the multidisciplinary team in Wexford General Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45781/21]

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Written answers

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

General Practitioner Services

Questions (325)

Robert Troy

Question:

325. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health the steps that should be taken by a person who cannot secure general practitioner services locally and has made efforts to secure a general practitioner within a reasonable radius of their home. [45783/21]

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Written answers

Where a GMS patient experiences difficulty in finding a GP to accept him/her as a patient, the person concerned having unsuccessfully applied to at least three GPs in the area can apply to the HSE National Medical Card Unit which has the power to assign that person to a GP's GMS patient list.

People who do not hold a medical card or GP visit card access GP services on a private basis and can make enquiries directly to any GP practice they wish to register with. As private contractors, it is a matter for each individual GP to decide whether to accept additional private patients. Where a GP practice has a full list of patients and cannot take on new patients, patients should contact other GP practices in the surrounding areas.

The Government is aware of the workforce issues currently facing general practice, including the limited access to GP services in certain areas, and has implemented a number of measures to improve recruitment and retention in general practice.

These measures include an increase in investment in general practice by approximately 40% (€210 million) between 2019 and 2023 under the terms of the 2019 GMS GP Agreement. The Agreement provides for increased support for GPs working in rural practices and for those in disadvantaged urban areas, and for improvements to maternity and paternity leave arrangements. In addition, the number of GPs entering training has been increased steadily over the past number of years, rising from 120 in 2009 to 233 in 2021.

Vaccination Programme

Questions (326)

Richard Bruton

Question:

326. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if arrangements are available for the vaccination of persons who cannot leave their homes for reasons of agoraphobia. [45809/21]

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Written answers

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 (327)

Claire Kerrane

Question:

327. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the reason health and social care professionals in primary care will be able to progress from staff grade to senior grade while those same professionals with the same length of time with regard to experience in hospitals and the mental health area will not; the rationale for allowing some to progress in their careers while others cannot; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45823/21]

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Written answers

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.

Health Services

Questions (328)

Claire Kerrane

Question:

328. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 306 of 25 February 2021, the reason women who turned 61 years of age before 30 March 2020 will not be screened at 65 years given the screening programme has been increased up to 65 years; the number of women who will miss out due to this specific use of a date; the reason women are no longer screened beyond the age of 65; the reason this decision on the March date was decided; the person or body which decided it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45824/21]

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Written answers

As this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.

Nursing Homes

Questions (329)

Claire Kerrane

Question:

329. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health if a list of nursing homes in the State in which residents in them are provided with tailored support packages or comfort monies will be provided; the number of individuals who receive these supports; the grounds on which they receive them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45825/21]

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Written answers

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Nursing Homes

Questions (330)

Claire Kerrane

Question:

330. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the average payment made to private nursing homes under the National Treatment Purchase Fund by county. [45826/21]

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Written answers

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Nursing Homes

Questions (331)

Claire Kerrane

Question:

331. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the number of nursing homes in the State that receive a top-up payment from the HSE in respect of a resident or residents; the corresponding county each nursing home is located; the rationale for these top-up payments; and the way in which it is determined who receives them. [45827/21]

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Written 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 (332)

Claire Kerrane

Question:

332. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the amount of funding provided to a centre (details supplied); the number of staff currently employed; the current services available; the number of vacant posts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45828/21]

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Written answers

As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Vaccination Programme

Questions (333)

Claire Kerrane

Question:

333. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the way an Irish citizen vaccinated outside of Ireland but in the EU avails of an EU Digital COVID Certificate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45831/21]

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Written answers

The EU Digital COVID Certificate is a document which is issued to help facilitate enable the safe and free international movement of people across the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The underpinning EU Digital COVID Certificate regulation concerns the issuing and verification of certificates for medical events including vaccination, recovery, and testing related to COVID-19.

A person who underwent a medical event, including a full course of vaccination, in an EU country outside of Ireland, must request a Digital COVID Certificate from the issuing authorities in that specific EU country.

General Practitioner Services

Questions (334)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

334. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the steps his Department is taking in the short-term, notwithstanding the Government’s commitments to reforms in this area under the Sláintecare plan, to ensure that general practitioners cannot charge excessive fees to patients who do not hold a medical card or general practitioner visit card; the steps his Department is taking in the context of the implementation of Sláintecare to move to a system of universal general practitioner care without charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45835/21]

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Written answers

GPs are private practitioners, most of whom hold a GMS (General Medical Services) contract with the HSE to provide services without charge to patients who hold a medical card or a GP visit card. GPs are reimbursed by the HSE for the provision of those services. Medical and GP visit card holders are not subject to a charge for GP face to face or phone consultations.

People who do not hold a medical card or GP visit card access GP services on a private basis. Neither my Department or the HSE have any role in relation to the fees charged by individual GPs for private consultations, as these are a matter of private contract between the clinicians and their patients.

Following the introduction of GP care without charges for all children under 6 years of age in 2015, a phased expansion extending GP care without charges to all children under 13 years of age is now planned that moves towards the Sláintecare objective of access to universal GP care without charges.

As of August, almost approximately 2,090,000 persons hold either a medical card or a GP Visit Card, thus approximately 41.7% of the population currently have access to GP care without fees.

It is estimated that extending GP care without charges to all children under 13 will benefit approximately an additional 285,000 children who would not otherwise be eligible. The first phase of the expansion, extending care without charges to 6- and 7-year olds, is estimated to benefit approximately an additional 77,000 children.

The legislative basis for the expansion is in place. The appropriate date for commencing the expansion remains under consideration in light of COVID-19 and the additional pressures the expansion might place on general practice in that context. This date will be determined following consultation with the IMO. It is important to ensure that any additional pressures placed on general practice will not limit its capacity to meet the needs of all patients in the community.

Vaccination Programme

Questions (335)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

335. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if male secondary school students who were in second year or over when the roll-out of HPV vaccines for their gender began in 2019, can access the vaccine through the public health system; if he plans to hold mopup clinics for this cohort of teenage boys; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45836/21]

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Written answers

The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). The committee's recommendations are based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practice in relation to immunisation. It makes recommendations on vaccination policy to my Department. The NIAC continues to revise recommendations to allow for the introduction of new vaccines in Ireland and to keep abreast of changes in the patterns of disease. Therefore, the immunisation schedule will continue to be amended over time.

In 2009, the NIAC recommended HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination for all 12 to 13 year old girls to reduce their risk of developing cervical cancer when they are adults. In September 2010, the HPV vaccination programme was introduced for all girls in first year of secondary school.

In June 2017, on foot of the NIAC’s recommendation that the HPV vaccine should also be given to boys, my Department asked the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to undertake a health technology assessment (HTA) to establish the clinical and cost-effectiveness of extending the immunisation programme to include boys in the first year of secondary school.

The HIQA completed the HTA in December 2018, recommending that the HPV immunisation programme be extended to include boys. A policy decision was made to extend the HPV immunisation programme to include boys, starting in September 2019, with the introduction of a 9-valent HPV vaccine.

The ages at which vaccines are recommended in the immunisation schedule are chosen by the NIAC in order to give each child the best possible protection against vaccine preventable diseases. As the HPV vaccine is preventative it is intended to be administered, if possible, before a person becomes sexually active, that is, before a person is first exposed to HPV infection.

Therefore, the gender-neutral HPV vaccination programme targets all girls and boys in first year of secondary school to provide maximum coverage. All vaccines administered through the School Immunisation Programme are provided free of charge.

My Department will continue to be guided by NIAC's recommendations on any emerging evidence on this issue in the future.

Anyone not in 1st year of secondary school or age equivalent in special schools or home schooled during the 2020/2021 school year who wishes to get the HPV vaccine, must go to their GP or sexual health clinic and pay privately for the vaccine and its administration. This applies to everyone whether or not they have a medical card/GP visit card, as it is outside of the HPV immunisation programme.

The Health Information & Quality Authority are conducting a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) on a school based HPV mop-up vaccination programme. The HIQA has confirmed that this HTA has been added to its work programme for 2021/2022.

Medical Cards

Questions (336)

Claire Kerrane

Question:

336. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the number of medications which have been removed from being available for free under a medical card in the past three years; the person or body which decides to remove such medications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45838/21]

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Written answers

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Medical Cards

Questions (337)

Claire Kerrane

Question:

337. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health if a medication (details supplied) will be made available again under the medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45839/21]

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Written answers

The Health Service Executive (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.

Following a review, the HSE introduced a new system for the reimbursement of the lidocaine 5% medicated plaster (Versatis), which is licensed only for the localised relief of post-shingles pain in adults.

Patients are reviewed by the Medicines Management Programme (MMP) for reimbursement approval, on foot of an application by the patient’s clinician, through the HSE online system.

In exceptional circumstances, the product may be approved for supply for unlicensed uses.

If an application is refused, the clinician may make an appeal, making a clear clinical case for the patient to the MMP at mmp@hse.ie.

This process ensures the appropriate use of the patch and that post-shingles patients, and other patients as clinically appropriate, can continue to have this treatment.

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