Written Answers Nos. 394-409
394. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Health if he will extend the proposed once-off €1,000 bonus payment for frontline health workers to frontline workers employed by section 39 disability service providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7130/22]
View answerFirstly I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all healthcare workers for their efforts during this most challenging period.
In recognition of the efforts of the general public, volunteers and all workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and in remembrance of people who lost their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on Wednesday 19 January, the Government announced a once-off public holiday will take place on Friday 18 March 2022.
The Government also announced COVID-19 recognition payment for frontline public sector healthcare workers, to recognise their unique role during the pandemic. The payment of €1,000 will not be subject to income tax, USC, or PRSI. The measure will be ring fenced to staff ordinarily onsite in COVID-19 exposed healthcare environments within the period between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2021.
Those public sector frontline healthcare workers eligible for the payment will be directly employed public health sector staff working in clinical settings. A pro-rata arrangement will apply for eligible part time staff / equivalents and supernumerary students who were required to perform training in clinical sites.
The Department of Health will also introduce a measure for making a similar payment to staff in private sector nursing homes and hospices that were affected by Covid-19.
I would like to assure the Deputy that work is underway to ensure fairness in the application of this measure as the Government intended.
The cost of providing a recognition payment of €1,000 to all eligible public servants working in the health and ambulance services depends on the number of staff who are eligible for the payment. If there were 100,000 WTE deemed eligible, the estimated cost would be approximately €100 million. This figure of 100,000 WTE represents approximately 75% of the HSE/Section 38 workforce and would be the minimum expected to be eligible for this recognition payment.
Similarly, the cost of providing an equivalent recognition payment to relevant staff in private sector nursing homes and hospices affected by Covid-19 depends on the number of staff deemed eligible for the payment. The estimated cost set out above does not include the cost in respect of nursing homes and Defence Forces staff. This measure, including costings, will be progressed by the Department of Health.
The Department and the HSE are currently engaging in finalising arrangements to give effect to the Government announcement concerning the Recognition Payment. Full particulars, eligibility and terms and conditions that apply to this payment shall be made available shortly. It is important that this measure is applied fairly as intended and I welcome the work that is ongoing to ensure this is so.
395. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) who recently moved to Ireland and is a UK citizen would have their medical expenses and treatments covered here under the HSE, if they are required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7131/22]
View answerUnder the social security provisions of the EU UK Trade & Cooperation Agreement (TCA), a person for whom the UK is competent is, if they move to live in Ireland, entitled to a non-means tested medical card if they meet any of the following requirements:
- ordinarily resident in the Republic of Ireland and,
- insured under the social security legislation of another EU/EEA member state, Switzerland or UK; i.e. receiving a social security pension from that state or working and paying social insurance in that state
- not subject to Irish social security legislation. A person is subject to Irish social security legislation if they are receiving a contributory Irish social welfare payment or are subject to PRSI in the Irish State.
A person who does not qualify for a Medical Card under the TCA/EU Regulations, for example a person who also has an Irish contributory social security pension, may still qualify for an Irish means-tested Medical Card. Details are available from the HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service. People without medical cards and considered by the HSE to be ordinarily resident can still access hospital health services at a reduced cost. Furthermore, it should be noted that since 2015 every individual aged 70 and over has automatic eligibility for a GP visit card.
Further information on the medical card assessment process including, applying for a card under EU Regulations, is available in the Medical Card and GP Visit Card National Assessment Guidelines. Patients who wish to make a medical card application, are advised to contact the HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service directly as they have responsibility for the assessment of and issuing of medical cards and GP visit cards.
396. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health the actions that are being taken to support women and pregnant persons with hyperemesis who face significant financial costs to access HSE recommended treatment of pyridoxine and doxylamine (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7137/22]
View answer412. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health the actions that are being taken to support women and pregnant persons with hyperemesis who face significant financial costs to access HSE recommended treatment of pyridoxine and doxylamine (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7193/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 396 and 412 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
397. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health when a decision will be made on the release of an estate (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7138/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
398. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the reason the tender to select a chair of the abortion law review was not issued publicly on eTenders as he stated would be the case on 8 December 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7149/22]
View answerThe Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 was signed into law on 20 December 2018 and commenced on 1 January 2019. Under section 7 of the Act, a review of the operation of the Act must be initiated within three years of the commencement of the Act, i.e., before January 2022.
As I stated during my appearance before the Joint Committee on Health on 8 December, it was my intention to appoint an independent Chair to lead the second phase of the review of the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018.
As the costs involved in contracting an independent Chair to conduct the review were estimated as exceeding €25,000, the advice I received was that the Department was obliged under procurement rules to tender for the appointment.
Given the expertise required for the position, a small number of candidates, identified as having suitable experience, were contacted and invited to tender for the role of independent Chair.
I look forward to receiving the Chair's final report, incorporating her conclusions and any recommendations, in due course.
399. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health the services that are available for persons diagnosed with avoidant, restrictive food intake disorder; if his attention has been drawn to instances in which persons living outside of CHO4 are unable to access the services provided to address this condition and as a result, a family has been left with no option but to secure such services for children under 12 years of age in the UK; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7152/22]
View answer400. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health his views on the case of a child diagnosed with avoidant, restrictive food intake disorder by CAMHS being denied cognitive behaviour therapy due to the fact that they are under 12 years of age. [7153/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 399 and 400 together.
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
401. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the actions that can be taken to help a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7160/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
402. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) can expect an appointment in the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore. [7162/22]
View answerUnder 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.
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.
403. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the amount each hospital has paid out in compensation in each of the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022; and the reason for payments, in tabular form. [7174/22]
View answerThe State Claims Agency (SCA) has a statutory remit to manage personal injury claims on behalf of Delegated State Authorities including the Health Service Executive. I have been informed by the SCA that the information contained in the attached report has been extracted from the National Incident Management System (NIMS) according to the below criteria:
Criteria used
- Payments relate to Acute Statutory and Voluntary Hospitals only.
- Amount paid in damages for the period 2018-2022 YTD (07/02/2022).
- This report is correct as of 07/02/2022
Question 1
Table 1 shows the total amount paid in damages per year for Acute Hospitals from 2018 to 2021. The Incident/Hazard Category associated with the damages paid are included. In order to protect the anonymity of individual records, some Hospital Groups and Hazard categories have been grouped together where there are a low number of records. Due to the low numbers of damages paid in 2022, these amounts are shown in Table 2 as a total figure for each of the hospital groups.
404. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Health if the drug luxturna which offers a cure for rare retinal disease has been reviewed by the HSE Rare Diseases Technology Review Committee; the status of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics negotiations on the availability of this drug; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7177/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
405. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Health if he will provide funding of €5 million to address the significant lists of children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus who are facing long wait times to access life-changing procedures; if not, the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7182/22]
View answerI acknowledge that waiting times for many hospital procedures and appointments are unacceptably long. It is of particular regret that children can experience long waiting times for orthopaedic treatment, especially for time sensitive procedures, and I remain acutely aware of the impact that this has on children and their families. I remain committed to working to reduce waiting times for patients.
Children with a range of needs rely on the orthopaedic service of Children’s Health Ireland, for example children with Spina Bifida, hip deformity, and other orthopaedic needs. The complex patient needs of these children remains at the forefront of service provision.
I remain acutely aware of the need to improve access to orthopaedic patients, particularly for those patients with acute medical needs. On the 7th February 2022, I met with senior officials of Children’s Heath Ireland (CHI) and the HSE, as well as senior orthopaedic clinicians from Temple Street, Crumlin and Cappagh, to discuss increased orthopaedic activity at CHI and additional activity levels which will work to reduce the number of children waiting for spinal orthopaedic procedures including Spina Bifida, by year end.
My Department continues to work with the HSE and Children’s Health Ireland to deliver improved paediatric orthopaedic services. In 2018 Children’s Health Ireland was provided with an additional €9 million in funding to address paediatric orthopaedic waiting lists, including the provision of scoliosis services. This funding is recurring and has been provided in the base HSE allocation each year since 2018. The additional funding supported the recruitment of approximately 60 WTEs in 2018 and 2019 to enable the expansion of paediatric orthopaedic services. The posts relate to the multi-disciplinary team at diagnosis, pre-assessment, during surgery in theatre, and post operatively.
More specifically, in order to tackle waiting lists for scoliosis, and orthopaedic paediatric surgery more broadly, an additional €5 million has recently been committed to improve access, including through additional theatre and diagnostic capacity to be brought on stream this year.
Children’s Health Ireland continue to examine new and innovative ways to improve access to orthopaedic services. “Cappagh Kids” at the National Orthopaedic Hospital at Cappagh provides additional theatre capacity for non-complex, age appropriate, orthopaedic procedures, freeing up much needed space at central CHI sites for children with complex, multi-disciplinary needs. Additional orthopaedic outpatient sessions are also now held at Cappagh, providing additional capacity to see and assess children on the outpatient waiting list.
In addition, a new fast-track orthopaedic pathway has been developed as part of outpatient reduction plans. Paediatric Active Clinical Triage has already been introduced for the longest waiters (over 12 months) on the paediatric outpatient list.
More broadly, improving waiting times for hospital appointments and procedures remains a commitment of this Government. For 2022 an additional allocation of €250 million, comprised of €200 million to the HSE and €50 million to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has been provided in respect of work to reduce hospital and community waiting lists. The €250 million will be used to fund additional activity in both the public and private sectors. The €50 million additional funding provided to the NTPF brings its total allocation for 2022 to €150 million, and as a consequence there will be a budget of €350 million available to support vital initiatives to improve access to acute hospitals and community health services.
In addition, my Department, the HSE and the NTPF are also working on a Multi Annual Waiting List Plan to bring waiting lists in line with Sláintecare targets over the coming years. This process will be overseen by a Ministerial Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary General of my Department and includes representatives from the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund.
406. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that appointments for the BreastCheck programme are currently up to a year behind schedule; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7186/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
407. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health the actions he is taking to reduce the delays in appointments for the BreastCheck programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7187/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
408. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Health the number of children waiting for speech and language, psychology, dietician and occupational therapies by county in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7189/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
409. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Health the reason for the scarcity of appointments in early intervention services in respect to speech and language, psychology, dietician and occupational therapies in Connemara; the status of the commitment in the Programme for Government to further expand early intervention teams in schools over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7190/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
