Written Answers Nos. 751-765
751. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health the disability day service centres that received funding in the past three years to provide, upgrade or improve their transport provision to and from their centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22866/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
752. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to extending the recognition payment for front-line workers during Covid-19 to those workers working within the Irish Prison Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22940/22]
View answerFirstly I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all healthcare workers for their efforts during this most challenging period.
To recognise their unique role during the pandemic, the Government announced a COVID-19 recognition payment for front-line public sector healthcare workers. Eligibility guidelines for this payment, as applies in HSE and Section 38 organisations, were published by the HSE on 19th April and are available at www.hse.ie/eng/staff/resources/hr-circulars/hr-circular-012-2022-pandemic-special-recognition-payment.html
Separately, the Department of Health shall shortly publish information for those other certain healthcare employees that are covered by the Government Decision and the process available to their employers to implement this measure for their eligible staff. This shall cover eligible staff in:
- Private Sector Nursing Homes and Hospices (e.g. Private, Voluntary, Section 39 etc.);
- Eligible staff working on-site in Section 39 long-term residential care facilities for people with disabilities;
- Agency roles working in the HSE;
- Health Care Support Assistants (also known as home help / home care / home support) contracted to the HSE;
- Redeployed members of Department of Defence to work in the HSE;
- Paramedics employed by the Department of Local Government, Housing and Heritage
I am also mindful of other workers who played their own part during this difficult period in sustaining other services. It is tough to draw a line on this matter, but the Government based its decision on the risks which the above front-line workers faced. In recognition of the efforts of all workers, volunteers, and the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in remembrance of people who lost their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government announced a public holiday which took place on 18 March 2022. From February next year there will also be a new permanent public holiday established to mark Imbolc/St Brigid’s Day.
753. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Health the timeframe as to when all categories of HSE front-line workers including home support workers will receive the €1,000 Covid payment from the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22947/22]
View answerOn 19th April, the HSE published additional details on this payment, including full eligibility criteria, particulars, and terms and conditions that apply to HSE and Section 38 organisations' employees. This information is available at www.hse.ie/eng/staff/resources/hr-circulars/hr-circular-012-2022-pandemic-special-recognition-payment.html
On the Deputy's particular question, I have referred the question to the HSE for direct answer and reply.
754. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health if the HSE funds fissure sealant treatment to children through the school dental programme. [22955/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked to HSE to reply directly to the Deputy.
755. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the chronic disease services that are available in the primary care settings within CHO areas 3 and 5. [22956/22]
View answerThe 2019 GP Agreement provided for the introduction of the new Chronic Disease Management (CDM) programme for type 2 diabetes, asthma, COPD, and cardiovascular disease. The programme which commenced in 2020 with adult GMS and GP visit card patients aged 75 years and over will be fully rolled out by 2023.
The programme was modified in July 2020 to facilitate remote reviews during the COVID-19 pandemic and was expanded, ahead of schedule, to include adults aged 70 and over. Under this modified programme, patients could undertake their reviews either in person or remotely.
In January 2021, the programme was further extended to patients aged 65 years and over. In 2022, the final phase of the treatment programme is being extended to all GMS patients aged 18 years and over. Opportunistic case finding and prevention for those at high risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease will also commence this year.
The CDM programme aims to bring the care for chronic disease further into the community and reduce hospital attendance by patients with the four conditions. Approximately 94% of GPs who signed up to the agreement are providing the CDM programme.
In relation to the services that are available in primary care settings in CHO areas 3 and 5, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
756. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of selective dorsal rhizotomy surgery carried out in public hospitals here in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and the public hospitals in which this surgery is carried out in tabular form. [22957/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
757. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE health science and diagnostics posts by discipline, speciality and grade for each hospital by hospital group; and the number of posts funded filled and vacant. [22958/22]
View answerIn 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.
759. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) is waiting so long for treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22993/22]
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.
761. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health the status of the establishment of an investigation team into maternal deaths; the composition of this team; the status of same; the way it will be funded; the oversight by the Houses of the Oireachtas or the public that will be in place with particular reference to whether this will have an impact on undermining inquests into maternal deaths; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23035/22]
View answerSerious adverse events in maternity care have a devastating impact on the families concerned. It is vital that our health services take steps to ensure serious adverse events in maternity care are appropriately reviewed and responded to at a national level.
The HSE’s Incident Management Framework was launched in 2018 and updated in 2020 and is applied to the management of individual incidents. In addition to these processes, the HSE Obstetric Event Support Team (OEST) is a new initiative which was established in 2022 to establish a team within the National Women and Infant Health Programme (NWIHP) to provide objective oversight over a specified list of obstetric clinical incidents occurring within Maternity Networks. The OEST has an initial staffing requirement of 4 Whole-time Equivalents (WTEs) including a Clinical Director, Midwife and case managers. Funding of €540,000 was provided to support the establishment and expansion of the OEST from Budget 2022.
The aim of the OEST is to support the networks as they respond to the events in terms of overseeing and advising on appointment of the review panel, family engagement, conduct of the review, finalisation of the review report and follow up. In addition to assisting the health services in responding to severe maternity related incidents and in the provision of appropriate supports for patients and families, the OEST aims to ensure appropriate expert level support is available nationally by enabling learning from adverse maternity incidents to be actioned at a national level and by promoting engagement with relevant stakeholders across the maternity network. It is anticipated that this will lead to safer and improved high-quality of care for patients and families.
762. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the percentage of social media posts made on each of his Departmental social media accounts or the social media accounts of public bodies and agencies that operate under his remit that were exclusively in Irish between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022, inclusive; the percentage of same that feature bilingual translations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23051/22]
View answerBetween May 2021 and April 2022, the number of posts from my Department from the @RoinnSlainte accounts on social media were as follows:
- 1,249 Twitter posts, 2% of them in Irish (24 posts).
- 109 Facebook posts, 12% in Irish (13 posts).
- 132 Instagram posts, 10% in Irish (13 posts)
My Department remains committed to meeting all its obligations under the Official Languages Act and to providing timely and meaningful advice and guidance through Irish during this crisis.
Links shared by my Department on social media direct to the Department's website, gov.ie/health, which is consistently managed to ensure a high level of content available in both English and Irish.
In addition, I am referring the Deputy's question to the HSE to allow for a response regarding HSE social media accounts.
763. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the percentage of social media posts made on each of his Departmental social media accounts or the social media accounts of public bodies and agencies that operate under his remit that were exclusively in languages besides English or Irish between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022, inclusive; the percentage of same that featured languages besides English or Irish; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23069/22]
View answerBetween May 2021 and April 2022, all posts from my Department from the @RoinnSlainte accounts on social media were either in English or in Irish.
I am referring the Deputy's question to the HSE to allow for a response regarding HSE social media accounts.
764. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the percentage of social media videos posted on each of his Departmental social media accounts or the social media accounts of public bodies and agencies that operate under his remit included closed captioning and or subtitling between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022, inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23087/22]
View answerBetween May 2021 and April 2022, the number of videos from my Department from the @RoinnSlainte accounts on social media were as follows:
- 78 videos posted on Twitter, 10% did not have captions (8 videos)
- 57 videos posted on Facebook, 8.7% did not have captions (5 videos)
- 45 videos posted on Instagram, 11% did not have captions (5 videos)
My Department is committed to ensuring important messages are accessible and use the National Disability Authority Communication Toolkit for Public Service as a guide on best practice.
In addition, I am referring the Deputy's question to the HSE to allow for a response regarding HSE social media accounts.
765. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the treatments available in the public health services for persons with leber congenital amaurosis and early onset of severe retinal dystrophy. [23116/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
