Written Answers Nos. 587-606
587. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the number of children that are awaiting access to child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, as of October 2021 in County Clare; and the length of time they have been waiting in three month intervals in tabular form. [55806/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
588. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health the status of the assessment of need for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55807/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
590. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) is unable to get an appointment for their child to see a dietician; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55810/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
591. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the position in relation to the shortage of neurology nurses nationwide; the position in relation to University Hospital Waterford and University Hospital Limerick for same; the efforts being made to provide for the required number of neurology nurses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55813/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
592. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a campaign (details supplied) to extend the list of x-ray referrers to include registered physiotherapists and to create the grade of advanced practice physiotherapists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55815/21]
View answerCouncil Directive 2013/59/EURATOM (the BSSD), insofar as it relates to the designation of referrers, was fully transposed by the European Union (Basic Safety Standards for Protection Against Dangers Arising from Medical Exposure to Ionising Radiation) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 256 of 2018).
These regulations designate those who may refer for radiological tests; nurses, doctors, dentists and radiographers are designated as appropriate. It should be noted that not all statutorily regulated professions are designated for the purposes of the BSSD. Physiotherapists are not designated in the regulations and were not designated as referrers (prescribers) under the previous regulations.
The requirement for physiotherapists to order x-rays needs to be determined in the context of the new models of healthcare envisaged under Sláintecare. If a requirement is established in the future then legislation changes supported by a clinical professional position, development of relevant education and competency standards of practice will also be required.
HSCP Deliver, A HSCP Strategic Guidance Framework for Health and Social Care Professions 21-2026 (National Health and Social Care Professionals Office, HSE 2021), launched by the HSE Chief Clinical Officer, Dr Colm Henry, includes commitments regarding progressing advanced practice for Health and Social Care Professionals. Officials in my Department are engaging with the HSE National Office for Health and Social Care Professionals in relation to HSCP Deliver and issues regarding developing advance practice for Health and Social Care Professionals to ensure that the introduction of new models of healthcare are planned and managed effectively to meet future healthcare need.
The HSE Integrated Care Lead and National Health and Social Care Professionals Office are committed to working in partnership with all stakeholders to progress advanced practice including patients/service users, other clinical colleagues including medical, nursing & midwifery and other health care professionals, Professional bodies, HSE and the Department of Health.
In relation to creating the grade of advanced practice physiotherapist, the Minister considers all new grades proposed by the HSE. To date the proposal for advanced practice physiotherapist has not been submitted to the Department for consideration. The HSE has a robust internal process which screens all potential new grades ensuring that they fit with Sláintecare reforms and that they are remunerated in line with their complexity and scope and represent international best practice
594. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the reason a medical card has been denied to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55823/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
596. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Health if required funding to staff the new cath lab at University Hospital Waterford which was assured on completion will be provided; when the recruitment process to enable a 24-7 PPCI service to be implemented at the hospital will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55841/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
597. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details of the initiative has been taken to increase the level of the HPV vaccine take up among older teenagers that did not or could not avail of the school based immunisation programme when in first year in school; if consideration has been given to a free or low cost vaccination drive to encourage girls that would have been due to have their HPV injections in the years 2015, 2016 or 2017 when the take-up dipped below the 80% annually before those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55864/21]
View answer599. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health if there has been costings prepared in relation to the possibility of a vaccination programme for the cohort of school going of girls who missed their HPV school based vaccination appointment during the previous years of the programme, given that the cost of having the vaccine administered from the person’s doctor can be a deterrent to be vaccinated, which is at odds with the aims of the programme to eliminate the virus among the population. [55866/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 597 and 599 together.
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.
My Department has asked the National Immunisation Advisory Committee to consider the clinical effectiveness of providing the HPV vaccine to:
- girls and boys in secondary school who were eligible to receive HPV vaccine in 1st year but who did not receive it; and
- women up to the age of 25 years who have left secondary school and who did not receive the vaccine when eligible.
If NIAC conclude that there is sufficient evidence to support providing the HPV vaccine to one or both groups, HIQA will undertake a cost-effectiveness assessment on that basis.
598. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the regional take up of the HPV vaccination programme for each year since it first rolled out for schoolgoing girls and later boys by percentage and numbers. [55865/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
600. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health if he was consulted by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in relation to the recent expansion of work permits, the feedback provided in relation to permit requirements and salary rates in the healthcare sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55869/21]
View answerThe employment permits system is operated by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment and is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills and or labour shortages. The system is managed through the operation of the Critical Skills and Ineligible Occupations Lists which determine employments that are either in high demand or are ineligible for an employment permit where there is a surplus of those skills in the domestic and EEA labour market.
As part of the most recent review of the occupations lists, officials from my Department engaged in discussions with officials from the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment in respect of submissions received relating to the health sector. The submissions received from the home care sector were considered by the Department of Health, Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment and the Interdepartmental Group for Economic Migration Policy in the context of this review.
The results of this review w ere announced on 28 October 2021. The review did not recommend removal of the occupation of care worker/home carers from the Ineligible Occupations List as the evidence suggested that the contracts of employment on offer and employment terms and conditions being offered are significant factors in the recruitment challenges faced by the sector, rather than a demonstrable labour market shortage. It was not considered appropriate to make any changes to the eligibility for employment permits for home carers on this occasion as there was insufficient evidence that the issue is not one of terms and conditions.
The sector has also previously been advised that a more systematic and structured engagement with the Department of Social Protection needs to be demonstrated. The next Occupational Lists Review will open in the coming months and submissions from sectors will be invited through a public consultation by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment.
601. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health his plans to assist public and private healthcare providers to address the serious staff shortages that are impacting on care standards in hospitals, nursing homes and in homecare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55870/21]
View answerThe COVID-19 pandemic brought a range of serious challenges to our health service and health service workforce. To continue to meet the ongoing demands caused by the pandemic, and to provide the necessary resources for the longer-term health care requirements of our population, the health sector workforce is expanding. In 2021 year-to-date, the workforce has increased by 3.5% from last year, with an additional 4,462 WTE recruited. The health sector now has a total of 130,636 WTE as of September 2021. The year-to-date WTE growth in 2021 is the second largest increase since the foundation of the HSE, with the increases in 2020 being the largest.
Budgets 2021 and 2022 have provided significant amounts of funding for a large-scale permanent expansion of the health service workforce. From the current position, of 130,636 WTE funding has been provided to increase the workforce by approximately 10,855 WTE, equating to an increase of 8%.
The Programme for Government (2020) commits to the introduction of “a statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes, which will provide equitable access to high-quality, regulated home care.” The Department is in the process of developing a statutory scheme for the financing and regulation of home-support. The new scheme will provide equitable and transparent access to high-quality services based on a person’s assessed care-needs.
In parallel with this, the Department has committed to establishing a Cross Departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group. The role of the group will be to facilitate the views of stakeholders and examine the evidence regarding the skills and labour market shortage, in home support and nursing homes. Potential areas to be considered include recruitment, retention, skills development, and sustainable employment of home care workers into the future.
602. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health the number of incidences of persons in mandatory hotel quarantine accessing the services of health professionals during their stay in hotel quarantine; if any of same were admitted to hospital; if any were referred to a health service for illnesses other than Covid-19; the supports that were made available to them by the health service in response; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55871/21]
View answerMandatory Hotel Quarantine (MHQ) was introduced in March 2021 as one element of Ireland’s public health measures to combat the transmission of COVID-19. I announced the removal of all remaining States from the List of Designated States for Mandatory Hotel Quarantine on Saturday, 25 September 2021.
Whilst the system of Mandatory Hotel Quarantine was operational, a total of 10,398 people entered Mandatory Hotel Quarantine accommodation. At its peak, 8 hotels were in use, and the busiest day was on 9 May 2021 when 1,008 persons were in accommodation. The last residents to leave accommodation departed on 26 September.
All guests undergoing mandatory quarantine in a designated facility were provided with access to a 24/7 on-site healthcare team, who provided daily well-being check-in calls as well as direct engagement as requested and required. GP services were available and delivery of prescription medicine arranged where needed. Guests requiring any specific, urgent or emergency care which could not be provided in the hotel were referred to an appropriate medical facility by the on-site healthcare team.
Medical assistance requiring the attendance of an Ambulance for residents in accommodation occurred on 45 occasions over the 26 weeks that the system was in operation.
Guests received RT-PCR testing for COVID-19 after entering mandatory hotel quarantine. 593 positive cases of COVID-19 were detected.
603. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Health the status of the new ophthalmology laboratory for University Hospital Waterford in view of previous announcements that the project timeline was to be completed by November 2021; the delivery schedule of the project; if the project is still to be delivered within University Hospital Waterford campus; the projected final spend; the funding advanced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55913/21]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
604. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Health the number of accident and emergency attendances at University Hospital Galway, University Hospital Limerick, Cork University Hospital and University Hospital Waterford from 1 October 2021, by week (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55914/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
605. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Health the latest contingencies that are now being put in place to protect against further unanticipated cost rises in specified materials required as part of the national children’s hospital build; the procedures in place to seek or specify alternate building solutions or materials in circumstances in which cost savings are identified; the person or body charged with such ongoing cost management of the project in view of materials price movements; the agreements in place with a company (details supplied) in terms of such price movements; the latest delivery timelines to completion being communicated by the builders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55915/21]
View answerAs the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has statutory responsibility for planning, designing, building and equipping the new children's hospital, I have referred your question to the NPHDB for direct reply.
606. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if the HSE has carried out investigations as to the cause of the high number of deaths from cancer over recent years in Newtowncunningham, County Donegal and Cloontagh, Clonmany, County Donegal; and if not, if the HSE is planning to do an investigation. [55924/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
