Written Answers Nos. 620-639
620. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of patients waiting over 48 hours in an emergency department in each of the years 2010 to 2021 and to date in 2022, by hospital group and hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12827/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
621. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total number of elective and non-elective procedures cancelled in acute hospitals in each of the years 2010 to 2021 and to date in 2022, by hospital group and hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12828/22]
View answerI fully acknowledge the distress and inconvenience for patients and their families when elective procedures are cancelled, particularly for clinically urgent procedures. While every effort is made to avoid cancellation or postponement of planned procedures, the HSE has advised that planned procedures and operations can be postponed or cancelled for a variety of reasons including capacity issues due to increased scheduled and unscheduled care demand.
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.
In relation to the particular queries raised, as these are service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
622. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total number of outpatient appointments cancelled in acute hospitals in each of the years 2010 to 2021 and to date in 2022, by hospital group and hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12829/22]
View answerI fully acknowledge the distress and inconvenience for patients and their families when elective procedures are cancelled, particularly for clinically urgent procedures. While every effort is made to avoid cancellation or postponement of planned procedures, the HSE has advised that planned procedures and operations can be postponed or cancelled for a variety of reasons including capacity issues due to increased scheduled and unscheduled care demand.
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.
In relation to the particular queries raised, as these are service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
623. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total number of elective and non-elective procedures cancelled in acute hospitals in each of the years 2010 to 2021 and to date in 2022 due to hospital overcrowding by hospital group and hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12830/22]
View answerI fully acknowledge the distress and inconvenience for patients and their families when elective procedures are cancelled, particularly for clinically urgent procedures. While every effort is made to avoid cancellation or postponement of planned procedures, the HSE has advised that planned procedures and operations can be postponed or cancelled for a variety of reasons including capacity issues due to increased scheduled and unscheduled care demand.
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.
In relation to the particular queries raised, as these are service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
624. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total population each level 4 hospital serves broken down by hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12831/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
625. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total number of inpatient and outpatient appointments and procedures carried out in each level 4 hospital in each of the years 2010 to 2021 and to date in 2022 and by hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12832/22]
View answerIn relation to the particular queries raised, as these are service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
626. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total number of staff employed at each level 4 hospital by hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12833/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.
627. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the percentage of acute inpatient beds occupied in public hospitals in each of the years 2016 to 2021 and to date in 2022, by hospital group and by hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12834/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
628. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total number of acute hospital beds in public hospitals by single isolation room beds and beds in wards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12835/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
629. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total cost of purchasing care for public patients in private hospitals in each of the years 2016 to 2021 and to date in 2022, by private hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12836/22]
View answerPayments from the National Treatment Purchase Fund to Private Hospitals are detailed in the attached document.
Details regarding payments from the Health Service Executive would be an operational matter and I have asked them to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
630. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total cost of purchasing care for public patients abroad in each of the years 2010 to 2021 and to date in 2022; the number of patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12837/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
631. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total cost to the State of providing private healthcare in public hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12838/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
632. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total cost of removing private healthcare from public hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12839/22]
View answerThe removal of private practice from public hospitals is a core principle of Sláintecare, ensuring that public healthcare facilities are used for public patients only, and that public patients can access public hospitals based on clinical need. A roadmap to support this policy direction will be developed during the course of the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy & Action Plan 2021-2023. Pending its development, a detailed estimate of the cost of removing private care from public hospitals is not currently available given the wide range of variables that have to be accounted for. It is noted, nonetheless, that the de Buitléir Report estimated that the current income from private activity was approximately €524 million in 2018 and that the additional public activity which would happen if private activity was no longer occurring in public hospitals would generate additional statutory public charges of up to €52 million.
633. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total number of persons in 2021 eligible for free general practitioner care paid for by the State; the total cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12840/22]
View answer634. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total number of persons currently eligible for free general practitioner care paid for by the State; the total cost to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12841/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 633 and 634 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
635. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who do not currently qualify for free general practitioner care but would if general practitioner care was freely and universally available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12842/22]
View answerAs of 1st February 2022, 1,539,900 held eligibility for a medical card while an additional 526,825 held eligibility for a GP visit card. This means that 2,066,725 held eligibility for free GP Services, over 41% of the current population.
According to most recent CSO statistics, Ireland's total population was estimated to be 5,011,500. As such, if a measure to introduce universal GP care was implemented, an additional 2,944,775 individuals would become eligible for free GP care.
636. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the modelling his Department has carried out to deliver full universal and free general practitioner care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12843/22]
View answerSeveral analyses have been undertaken to estimate the future demands for GP capacity, and the related GP expenditure, across a number of eligibility scenarios including universal GP care without charges.
The HSE report on Medical Workforce Planning Future Demand for General Practitioners 2015-2025 provides estimates on the additional demand for GPs and the training numbers necessary to meet that demand under different eligibility scenarios including universal GP care. The report notes that to meet the demand for GPs that may be required by 2025, the State would require significant increases to the annual intake for GP postgraduate specialist training.
Building on this work, the HSE publication The Demand for Medical Consultants and Specialists to 2028 and the Training Pipeline to Meet Demand provides estimates on the demand for GPs by 2028 based on rolling out GP care without charges to the under 18’s and over 70’s as well as universal free GP care.
Measures taken by the Government to increase GP capacity and the number of GPs in the State are already having an impact. There has been a significant increase in the number of GPs entering training in recent years, up from 120 in 2009 to 233 in 2021, with large increases made in recent years. The transfer of responsibility for training to the ICGP, completed last year, will result in further increases in the coming years. 259 GP training places are planned for 2022.
Due to the wide range of payments and variables that must be accounted for, and the requirement to determine the scope of services to be provided to newly eligible cohorts in consultation with the IMO, it is not possible to definitively calculate the cost of universal GP care without charges. However, the 2019 IGEES paper Costing Framework for the Expansion of GP Care provides a cost estimate for universal GP care, as does the 2018 ERSI study Universal GP care in Ireland: Potential Cost Implications.
Other relevant analyses include the Department of Health’s Health Service Capacity Review 2018 which estimates future capacity requirements, including those in primary care, for the period to 2031, and the Projections of Expenditure for Primary, Community and Long-Term Care in Ireland, 2019–2035, based on the Hippocrates Model (July 2021) research paper from the ESRI, which was funded by the Department of Health and which projects expenditure for most primary, community, and long-term health and social care services in Ireland for the years 2019–2035.
637. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the timeline for the full roll-out of universal and free general practitioner care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12844/22]
View answerAs per the Programme for Government, the Government is committed to increasing access to GP care without charges for more 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.
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 and my Department and the HSE are working to roll the service out.
The Sláintecare vision for universal access to healthcare at low or no cost recognises the need for careful planning, as expanding eligibility could generate significant increases in demand for GP and other primary care services. Eligibility is to be expanded on a phased basis in line with GP capacity so as not limit the ability of general practice to meet the needs of all patients in the community. As such there is currently no timeline for universal GP care without charges.
Measures taken by the Government to increase GP capacity and the number of GPs in the State are already having an impact. There has been a significant increase in the number of GPs entering training in recent years, up from 120 in 2009 to 233 in 2021, with large increases made in recent years. The transfer of responsibility for training to the ICGP, completed last year, will result in further increases in the coming years. 259 GP training places are planned for 2022.
638. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if he has considered the introduction of salaried general practitioners working for the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12845/22]
View answerGPs are private practitioners who hold contracts with the HSE to provide services under various public health schemes; there are no plans at present to directly employ GPs. Any proposed model involving salaried GP positions would require careful consideration to ensure the required level of service could be provided for medical card and GP visit card holders.
The 2019 GP Agreement on Contractual Reform and Service Development includes a commitment to undertake a strategic review of GP services within the lifetime of the Agreement, to examine how best to ensure the provision of GP services in Ireland for the future. Work on the review is to commence this year. The review will examine the broad range of issues affecting general practice, and will set out measures necessary to deliver a sustainable service into the future.
639. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of general practitioners that will be trained for the next six years by year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12846/22]
View answerThe HSE takes several factors into consideration when making its annual assessment of the number and type of specialist training places required within each specialty including but not limited to, future medical workforce planning projections, the number currently in training and the training capacity within the health system.
Targeted increases across a number of specialist training programmes are planned for July 2022 and the HSE is currently working with all relevant stakeholders to agree the July 2022/23 specialist training intakes, including Surgery, Medicine, Psychiatry and General Practice.
The number of GPs entering training has increased steadily over the past number of years, rising from 120 in 2009 to 233 in 2021. 258 places will be available in 2022. The transfer of GP training from the HSE to the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) which was concluded in 2021 will allow for the introduction of a new service model for GP training in Ireland and the further expansion GP training capacity in the years ahead. The ICGP aims to have 350 training places available for new entrants per year by 2026. Until then, the annual increases in training places will be determined on an annual basis by the training capacity of the health system.
