Skip to main content
Normal View

Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022

Written Answers Nos. 890-907

Mental Health Services

Questions (890)

Steven Matthews

Question:

890. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Health his views on the adequacy of existing mental health supports for children in County Wicklow; the number of children under 18 years of age who are waiting three months or longer to see a psychologist following a referral from a general practitioner; the steps he is taking to reduce wait times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8320/22]

View answer

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.

Medicinal Products

Questions (891)

Johnny Guirke

Question:

891. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Health if he or his Department has had any engagement with a union (details supplied) in relation to the charge currently levied on the monthly monitor dosage system for medical card holders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8328/22]

View answer

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.

Medicinal Products

Questions (892)

Johnny Guirke

Question:

892. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Health if he will consider amending the present system in order that the fee for medical card holders in relation to the monthly monitor dosage unit will be covered by the medical card in the same manner as the fee is currently covered under the phased dosage system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8329/22]

View answer

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.

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Questions (893)

Niall Collins

Question:

893. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health if nursing staff working in the dialysis unit at University Hospital Limerick will receive the €1,000 Covid payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8333/22]

View answer

Written answers

Firstly 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 last, 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 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.

General Practitioner Services

Questions (894)

Niall Collins

Question:

894. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health when the general practitioner visit card will be extended to children under 12 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8334/22]

View answer

Written answers

The Government is committed to increasing access to GP care without charges for children, an important healthcare measure that will remove a potentially prohibitive cost barrier to accessing GP care and will help to improve children’s health as they develop. At present all children up to and including the age of 5 are eligible for a GP visit card and therefore GP care without charges.

The Health (General Practitioner Service and Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Act 2020 provides, amongst other things, for the phased expansion of GP care without fees to all children aged 12 years and under in three phases: to children aged 6 and 7; to children aged 8 and 9; and to children aged 10,11 and 12. Budget 2022 provides for the initial stage of this phased expansion, the provision of GP care without fees to all children aged 6 and 7. My officials and the HSE are already engaged in preparatory work, and I expect to be in a position to bring forward proposals to the IMO, representing GPs, later this quarter. 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.

Dental Services

Questions (895)

Pa Daly

Question:

895. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will receive a dental appointment. [8355/22]

View answer

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.

Question No. 896 answered with Question No. 749.

Medical Aids and Appliances

Questions (897)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

897. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of funding for a motorised chair for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8378/22]

View answer

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 (898)

Mark Ward

Question:

898. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the plans that are in place to roll out ACCES Team Homeless Mental Health Service across the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8383/22]

View answer

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.

Mental Health Services

Questions (899)

Mark Ward

Question:

899. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the number of children waiting on appointments for mental health treatments under the ACCES Team Homeless Mental Health Service in tabular form in each of the years 2018 to date in 2022; the average wait times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8384/22]

View answer

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.

Mental Health Services

Questions (900)

Mark Ward

Question:

900. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the number of adults waiting on appointments for mental health under the ACCES Team Homeless Mental Health Service; the average waiting times in tabular form in each of the years 2018 to date in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8385/22]

View answer

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.

Abortion Services

Questions (901)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

901. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health if the HSE will issue guidance in relation to the abortion of unborn children in cases in which life-limiting conditions are suspected to exist in view of the case of a child (details supplied). [8402/22]

View answer

Written answers

As the Deputy’s question relates to a service area, I have referred this question to the HSE for direct response.

Health Services

Questions (902)

Seán Fleming

Question:

902. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Health the support and services in place for persons who have had a brain tumour as it is seriously impacting on their ongoing health; the facilities that are in place for ongoing care and support in this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8405/22]

View answer

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 Service Executive

Questions (903)

Chris Andrews

Question:

903. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Health if urgent action will be taken to resolve the dereliction of an HSE-owned building (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8412/22]

View answer

Written answers

As the Health Service Executive is responsible for the management of the public healthcare property estate, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to you in relation to this matter.

Hospital Waiting Lists

Questions (904)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

904. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which a major reconfiguration of the health services can be undertaken with a view to a specific deadline in 2022 for the elimination of various waiting lists by way of the utilisation of whatever means might be available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8415/22]

View answer

Written answers

The 2022 waiting list action plan, which I will be bringing to Government shortly, builds on the successes of the short-term 2021 plan that ran from September to December last year. The actions under the 2021 plan delivered immediate extra activity that resulted in a 5.4% reduction in overall waiting lists. That’s over 40,000 additional men, women and children no longer on waiting lists.

The short-term plan also incorporated reform actions that will continue to be progressed as part of the 2022 waiting list action plan. This reform work includes: revised waiting list management protocols; improved data collection and information; and further work towards improving patient pathways of care, with some 37 priority scheduled care pathways across 16 specialties on track for implementation in 2022. These will ensure the availability of more timely access to care for people in settings closer to their communities and homes.

The Waiting List Task Force has produced a comprehensive 2022 waiting list action plan and will meet regularly to drive progress of this plan, as well as continuing to work to identify new and innovative ways to improve access to care for our citizens.

The 2022 Plan commits €350 million to further reducing waiting lists and improving waiting times this year, including €150 million funding to the National Treatment Purchase Fund.

This plan is the first year of a multi-annual reform plan to bring about meaningful changes to achieve sustained reductions in waiting list numbers and waiting times.

But most importantly it will positively impact the lives of the many men, women and children on those waiting lists who deserve, and will get, more timely health care as a result.

Hospital Waiting Lists

Questions (905)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

905. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the most readily available means whereby the implementation of Sláintecare can be ensured in order to overhaul the long waiting lists in the disciplines most affected in the health services to provide the ready availability of a comprehensive health service to the general public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8416/22]

View answer

Written answers

The 2022 waiting list action plan, which I will be bringing to Government shortly, builds on the successes of the 2021 short-term Waiting List Action Plan that ran from September to December last year. The actions under the 2021 plan delivered immediate extra activity that resulted in a 5.4% reduction in overall waiting lists. That’s over 40,000 additional men, women and children no longer on waiting lists.

The 2017 all-party Oireachtas Sláintecare Report recognises the need to reduce waiting times for scheduled care services, especially for those with urgent and complex care needs. It sets out the following recommended maximum waiting time targets to be achieved by 2026: no patient should wait longer than 10 weeks for outpatients / assessments; 12 weeks for inpatients / day cases; and 10 days for diagnostics.

The 2022 Waiting List Action Plan outlines specific actions which are being taken forward in 2022 to further stabilise and deliver immediate reductions in acute scheduled care waiting lists volumes in tandem with a series of longer-term reform measures to fundamentally resolve underlying and ongoing barriers to the timely delivery of care - reducing maximum wait times, as the first step towards achieving the Sláintecare targets.

This plan is therefore the first year of a multi-annual reform plan to bring meaningful changes in achieving sustained reductions in waiting list numbers and waiting times.

This reform work includes: revised waiting list management protocols; improved data collection and information; and further work towards improving patient pathways of care, with some 37 priority scheduled care pathways across 16 specialties on track for implementation in 2022. These will ensure the availability of more timely access to care for people in settings closer to their communities and homes, in line with Sláintecare.

The success of longer-term reform to waiting lists will be dependent on the effective and timely delivery of other reform initiatives in progress but under seperate governance and project management structures within the Sláintecare Implementation Programme. The Waiting List Task Force will ensure that the 2022 Waiting List Action Plan and subsequent multi-annual plans will be aligned with these other interdependent initiatives, which include: new electives-only hospitals; reform of eligibility policy; Enhanced Community Care; implementation of the Regional Health Areas (RHAs); the Sláintecare consultant contract; implementation of the capacity review; strategic workforce planning; eHealth initiatives.

Dental Services

Questions (906)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

906. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which provision can be made or is being made to address the deficiencies in the orthodontic services throughout the country; the number of persons on waiting lists at present; when they will have access to the necessary treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8417/22]

View answer

Written answers

As this is a service matter I have asked the HSE to reply directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.

Dental Services

Questions (907)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

907. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which an adequate dental service is available through the schools and thereafter by way of every means possible in order to ensure the highest possible standards of service to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8418/22]

View answer

Written answers

As this is a service matter I have asked the HSE to reply directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.

Top
Share