Written Answers Nos. 1027-1049
1027. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Health if the pandemic special recognition payment will be limited to payment of staff that worked between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14753/22]
View answerFirstly I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all healthcare workers for their efforts during this most challenging period.
The Government announced a 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.
This payment will be made to those eligible public sector frontline healthcare staff (inclusive of agency staff working for the HSE) who worked in clinical settings (e.g. – and noting this list is not exhaustive: those Doctors / Nurses / Health Care Assistants / Porters / Cleaners etc. that work in clinical settings. The measure encompasses Health Care Support Assistants (also known as Home Carers / Home Help) employed by or carrying out duties contracted to the HSE.
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.
The Department and the HSE are currently consulting with health sector trade unions on this matter. This consultation is part of the Department and HSE’s objective to finalise the application of this measure fairly. Upon conclusion of consultations with the trade unions, full details of the application process, FAQs and other particulars including how the pro-rata shall apply shall be published by the HSE.
Though noting the above work is still ongoing, it is envisaged that the process for paying eligible public sector healthcare workers will commence this month. For eligible healthcare workers in private sector nursing homes and hospices, noting the additional complexities involved, it is envisaged the process will commence in the second quarter of this year.
1028. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will be called for their surgery; the reason for the delay in same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14755/22]
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.
1029. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health the steps being taken to reopen a rehabilitation centre (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14769/22]
View answerThe Keltoi facility was identified for use as an isolation facility for marginalised and vulnerable people during COVID-19 in Community Healthcare Organisation 9.
There are significant numbers of homeless and addiction service users in this area, particularly in Dublin North City and County. The area also has a high migrant health population living in overcrowded accommodation and quarantine accommodation.
It is important to state that all these cohorts have specific challenges and that they need individualised supports to be put in place if they are Covid positive, as they cannot isolate in their existing accommodation on public health grounds.
The HSE has advised that there is still a very significant ongoing demand for isolation in this facility and that it will be maintained as a Covid Isolation Facility for now. The HSE has assured me that the use of this facility as a Covid-19 response is being reviewed on a monthly basis.
I am happy to confirm that the HSE remain committed to enhancing the residential addiction services in this area including the reopening of the Keltoi facility once it is no longer required as part of the Covid-19 response.
It is vital that individuals receiving rehabilitation services from Keltoi are supported to continue their recovery path. I welcome that fact that the Keltoi counselling staff based in the HSE Stanhope Centre, are continuing to provide appropriate support services to clients under the Keltoi aftercare programme.
1030. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to increase the number of rehabilitation centres in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14770/22]
View answerThe Health Research Board reports annually on the number of cases treated for problem drug and alcohol use. In 2019, there were 10,666 cases treated for problem drug use and 7,546 cases treated for problem alcohol use. These data include 1,571 inpatient drug treatment cases, where the client attending the service stays overnight, e.g., in-patient detoxification, therapeutic communities, respite and step down, and 2,806 inpatient alcohol treatment cases.
In 2021, The Department of Health provided an additional €3.3 million for residential treatment services. Altogether, this funding will provide an additional 475 treatment episodes.
This funding includes an additional 100 stabilisation treatment episodes as part of the North East Inner-City initiative, a further 150 episodes nationally in tier 4 residential treatment services and 100 treatment episodes in a residential step-up treatment facility for CHOs 3, 4 and 5. In addition, over €1.3 million is being provided for the establishment of a 20-bed residential therapeutic community for expectant women and women with children in the mid-west region, which will cater for 125 episodes per annum.
Further proposals to increase the provision of addiction treatment episodes will be considered in the context of the 2023 Estimates process.
1031. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the reason that supports services for an autistic child (details supplied) have been stopped; when they will recommence; the cause of this interruption;; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14775/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1032. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health the level of staffing of the Armagh Road children’s disability network team; and the breakdown of staffing (details supplied). [14777/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1033. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Health the number of non-EU doctors who applied for a place on higher surgical and clinical training in the past five years; the number who were successful in getting a place in the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14779/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have referred this question to the HSE for response.
1034. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if a person who worked in an acute hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic will be entitled to the €1,000 Covid recognition payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14780/22]
View answerFirstly I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all healthcare workers for their efforts during this most challenging period.
The Government announced a 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.
This payment will be made to those eligible public sector frontline healthcare staff (inclusive of agency staff working for the HSE) who worked in clinical settings (e.g. – and noting this list is not exhaustive: those Doctors / Nurses / Health Care Assistants / Porters / Cleaners etc. that work in clinical settings. The measure encompasses Health Care Support Assistants (also known as Home Carers / Home Help) employed by or carrying out duties contracted to the HSE.
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.
The Department and the HSE are currently consulting with health sector trade unions on this matter. This consultation is part of the Department and HSE’s objective to finalise the application of this measure fairly. Upon conclusion of consultations with the trade unions, full details of the application process, FAQs and other particulars including how the pro-rata shall apply shall be published by the HSE.
Though noting the above work is still ongoing, it is envisaged that the process for paying eligible public sector healthcare workers will commence this month. For eligible healthcare workers in private sector nursing homes and hospices, noting the additional complexities involved, it is envisaged the process will commence in the second quarter of this year.
1035. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if a person who worked in a nursing home and later switched to an agency nurse position in a geriatric hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic will be entitled to the €1,000 Covid recognition payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14781/22]
View answerFirstly I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all healthcare workers for their efforts during this most challenging period.
The Government announced a 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.
This payment will be made to those eligible public sector frontline healthcare staff (inclusive of agency staff working for the HSE) who worked in clinical settings (e.g. – and noting this list is not exhaustive: those Doctors / Nurses / Health Care Assistants / Porters / Cleaners etc. that work in clinical settings. The measure encompasses Health Care Support Assistants (also known as Home Carers / Home Help) employed by or carrying out duties contracted to the HSE.
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.
The Department and the HSE are currently consulting with health sector trade unions on this matter. This consultation is part of the Department and HSE’s objective to finalise the application of this measure fairly. Upon conclusion of consultations with the trade unions, full details of the application process, FAQs and other particulars including how the pro-rata shall apply shall be published by the HSE.
It is important that this measure is applied fairly as intended and I welcome the work that is ongoing to ensure this is so.
I would also like to remind the Deputy that the Department of Health cannot comment on individual cases.
1036. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the steps that have been taken to increase the number of home carers to alleviate waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14785/22]
View answerThe Government is committed to the development of improved community-based services, shifting care to the home, and offering greater choice for older people. As Minister with responsibility for this area I have prioritised home support services so that additional funding secured in Budget 2021, to provide an extra 5 million hours, has been maintained under Budget 2022. In 2021 some 20.4 million hours were provided to over 55,000 people. This is about 2.9 million more hours compared to 2020, an increase of 17%.
It takes some time between funding approval and the actual delivery of home support hours, and certain regions are experiencing increased pressures due to staff availability. At the end of January 2022 there were 4,836 people assessed and waiting for a carer to become available. This is a reduction from December 2021, when 5,322 were waiting for a carer to become available. At the end of January 274 were awaiting processing of funding approval, which is a reduction from 474 in December 2021, the previous month.
The HSE is endeavouring to prioritise service for clients with the highest care needs, to ensure that the service can commence for those who require it most urgently. It is important to note that progress is being made in this area, and that the total number of people waiting for home support across both categories has reduced from over 9,000 at the start of 2020 to approximately 5,110 by the end of January 2022.
I am very aware of the strategic workforce challenges in the home support and nursing homes sector, and I have held multiple meetings with relevant key stakeholders in recent months on these matters. I have also spoken about my commitment to establish a Cross-Departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group to examine strategic workforce challenges, including recruitment and retention of workers, in front-line carer roles in home support and nursing homes.
The Group is now established and held its first meeting on 3rd March 2022, following a call for submissions from key relevant stakeholders.
The Terms of Reference for the Group are available on the Department’s website: bit.ly/3IgjEko
The Group will progress a structured programme of ongoing consultative engagements with stakeholders to further explore and define the issues, listen to stakeholder views, and identify approaches to respond to the strategic workforce challenges.
The Group will also provide a forum for agreement on strategic approaches to address the workforce challenges in the sector and develop a report for my consideration outlining the Group’s key findings, recommendations, and a proposed action plan to support implementation of these recommendations to include periodic monitoring of progress.
The Group is working to a tight timeline and is committed to providing a set of recommendations to me by September 2022.
1037. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the status of legislation being introduced to regulate the home care sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14786/22]
View answerThe Programme for Government agreed in 2020 commits the government to ‘Introduce a statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes, which will provide equitable access to high-quality, regulated home care’.
Consequently, work is on-going within the Department of Health to progress the development of the new statutory scheme for the financing and regulation of home-support services. Taking place within the broader context of the Sláintecare reforms, this work encompasses the development of the regulatory framework for the new scheme; the examination of the options for the financing model for the scheme; and the development of a reformed model of service-delivery.
In relation to the regulatory framework, Government gave approval to draft a General Scheme and Heads of a Bill to establish a licensing framework for homecare and support providers in April 2021. This is being progressed by the Department with a view to bringing it through the Houses of the Oireachtas at the earliest opportunity. It is expected that the primary legislation will give the Minister for Health the power to make regulations in respect of minimum requirements which will form the criteria against which a provider’s eligibility to hold a licence will be determined. The framework will comprise: (i) primary legislation for the licensing of public and private home-support providers; (ii) minimum requirements (i.e., regulations); and (iii) HIQA National Standards for Home Support Services.
Development of regulations and quality standards are at an advanced level and public consultation on these draft minimum requirements is planned for Q2 2022.
On 24th February, the ESRI published a report on the demand for and cost of home support. This is the final output from a programme of research that the ESRI has undertaken to support the Department of Health to progress the development of the new home support scheme. This research will form an important part of the evidence base for the development of a sustainable funding model for home support services in the context of our ageing population. Government approval will be sought in due course on any proposed legislation to provide for a financial support scheme, taking into consideration the cost associated with the various options.
1038. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health the average waiting time for children who require follow-on cardiac surgery in the Mater Hospital, Dublin following a previous surgery which resulted in an adverse outcome and has therefore necessitated a second surgery. [14805/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1040. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health the number of full-time audiologists assigned to each primary care centre in CHO area 6 as at 31 December 2020 and at 1 March 2022, in tabular form. [14815/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1041. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on the waiting list for bariatric surgery as of 28 February 2022. [14816/22]
View answerIt is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. While significant work continues to positively impact on waiting times and improve pathways to elective care, acute hospitals have been impacted by operational challenges arising from surges in cases related to the Delta and Omicron variants.
The HSE has confirmed to the Department that 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.
The Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to identify ways to improve access to care, including through increased use of private hospitals, funding weekend and evening work in public hospitals, funding “see and treat” services, providing virtual clinics, and increasing capacity in the public hospital system.
The 2022 Waiting List Action Plan, which was launched on the 26th of February, allocates €350 million to the HSE and NTPF to reduce waiting lists. Under this plan the Department, HSE, and NTPF will deliver urgent additional capacity for the treatment of patients, as well as investing in longer term reforms to bring sustained reductions in waiting lists.
The plan builds on the successes of the short-term 2021 plan that ran from September to December last year. The 2021 plan was developed by the Department of Health, the HSE and the NTPF and was driven and overseen by a senior governance group co-chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Health and the CEO of the HSE and met fortnightly.
This rigorous level of governance and scrutiny of waiting lists has continued into this year with the oversight group evolving into the Waiting List Task Force. The Task Force will meet regularly to drive progress of the 2022 plan.
This is the first stage of an ambitious multi-annual waiting list plan, which is currently under development in the Department of Health. Between them, these plans will work to support short, medium, and long term initiatives to reduce waiting times and provide the activity needed in years to come.
The data requested by the Deputy regarding the number of persons on the waiting list for bariatric surgery as of 28 February 2022 is outlined in the attached document and was provided to my department by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) by time band as at 24th February 2022 the most recently published date by the NTPF.
Inpatient - Daycase (IPDC) Bariatric waits as at 24/02/2022
|
Time Bands (months) |
0-6 Mths |
6-12 Mths |
12-18 Mths |
18+ Mths |
Grand Total |
|
Bariatric Surgery by TimeBands |
76 |
49 |
15 |
38 |
178 |
|
Grand Total |
76 |
49 |
15 |
38 |
178 |
1042. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health the arrangements he has made to reinstate full child health screening and developmental checks and to retrospectively screen all children who have missed any of their screening appointments since the start of the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14817/22]
View answerChild development checks are provided by Public Health Nurses alongside a range of other community healthcare services.
Since March 2020, many Public Health Nursing staff have been redeployed to support COVID-19 related clinical activities including providing clinical leadership and direct support in the establishment of COVID-19 vaccination clinics. This redeployment of staff has had a significant impact on the capacity of the Public Health Nursing service to deliver the core child health screening and surveillance programme. However, as public health nursing staff returned to their core duties, child development check services were prioritised. Any parents with a concern should contact their GP or local HSE Public Health Nursing service.
The Deputy may also wish to note that the Government is investing €195m in 2022 under the Enhanced Community Care programme which will support recruitment of around 3,500 primary and community staff, including more nursing staff.
1043. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a detailed list of the gender reassignment procedures that have been carried out within the St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2021; and the number of each of these procedures listed that have been carried out during this decade by procedure and year. [14885/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1044. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of tubal ligations that have been carried out within the St. Vincent’s hospital group hospitals for on-demand for contraceptive purposes versus for clinical reasons in each of the years 2011 to 2021, by year. [14886/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1045. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of procedures (details supplied) performed at Connolly Hospital in each of the years 2011 to 2021. [14887/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1046. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of procedures (details supplied) performed at St. James’ Hospital, Dublin in each of the years 2011 to 2021. [14888/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1047. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of outsourced to the private sector vasectomy procedures under the National Treatment Purchase Fund waiting list initiative at Connolly Hospital in each of the years 2011 to 2021. [14889/22]
View answer1048. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of outsourced to the private sector vasectomy procedures under the National Treatment Purchase Fund waiting list initiative at Tallaght University Hospital in each of the years 2011 to 2021. [14890/22]
View answer1049. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of outsourced to the private sector vasectomy procedures under the National Treatment Purchase Fund waiting list initiative at St. Vincent’s University Hospital in each of the years 2011 to 2021. [14891/22]
View answer1050. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of vasectomy procedures outsourced to the private sector under the National Treatment Purchase Fund waiting list initiative at St. James’ Hospital, Dublin in each of the years 2011 to 2021. [14892/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1047 to 1050, inclusive, together.
In relation to the data requested by the Deputy, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) have informed my Department that there were 35 vasectomy treatments arranged from 2017 to 2021 across 3 of the 4 hospitals with approximately 70% arranged in Tallaght University Hospital.
As the number of treatments are very low, for Statistical Disclosure Control (SDC) reasons, the NTPF have advised that no further breakdown can be provided to avoid possible identification of patients.
