Written Answers Nos. 1-96
89. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health his views on the exclusion of vulnerable individuals such as newly arrived asylum seekers, from access to abortion services without charge on the basis that they do not have a personal public service number; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37248/22]
View answerIt is my priority to ensure that the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 is fully implemented, and is performing as it should be, to enable all women in Ireland to access termination of pregnancy services quickly and easily, without bias or judgment.
Termination of pregnancy services are free of charge to anyone who is ordinarily resident in the State. In the case of a vulnerable person including an asylum seeker looking to access the service, it is my understanding that in any situation where a person requires a Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) to access urgent or emergency medical services, but hasn’t yet been assigned one, the Department of Social Protection can and will allocate a PPSN for that purpose.
There is regular ongoing engagement between the Department of Health and the HSE to facilitate the operation of the service and to resolve any issues that may arise and we will continue to ensure the positive rollout and enhancement of these healthcare services.
The Review of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 which is currently underway will assess the effectiveness of the operation of the legislation. This purpose of the review is to facilitate monitoring of the operation of the legislation in practice, as well as of the delivery of services in the area.
93. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health when more beds will open at West Kerry Community Hospital, Dingle; the up-to-date position in relation to the recruitment of additional nursing staff and healthcare assistants; if he will provide the staffing figures at present at the hospital; the way that this compares to the figures at the beginning of 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37508/22]
View answerWest Kerry Community Hospital provides important and valued services for people in the area. However, similar to other hospitals in remote locations, staff recruitment challenges have unfortunately had an impact on bed capacity. Cork Kerry Community Healthcare continues to endeavour to recruit staff in order to increase the number of community beds for the region and maximise the services available. The goal is to ensure that the maximum number of people that can be safely accommodated in our community hospitals are being accommodated. I can assure the Deputy that all efforts are being made to increase both staff numbers and bed capacity in West Kerry.
In terms of the current complement of staff in West Kerry, there are a total of 15.7 Whole-time Equivalent nursing staff, 21.8 Whole-time Equivalent Healthcare Assistants and 11.8 Whole-time Equivalent Other staff. At the beginning of 2022 there were 12.5 Whole-time Equivalent nursing staff, 20.8 Whole-time Equivalent Healthcare Assistants and 8 Whole-time Equivalent Other staff.
In terms of recruitment of staff, one Registered General Nurse commenced employment in May, one has returned part-time, two are due to start this month, while another is in the recruitment clearance process. In terms of Healthcare Assistants, one began employment in February; another in March, and two more were interviewed in May and have been placed on a panel.
94. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if the waiting list initiative has been impacted by the latest surge in Covid-19 hospital admissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37520/22]
View answerI launched the 2022 Waiting List Action Plan in February following extensive engagement between my Department, the HSE and the NTPF.
This Plan contains 45 actions to reduce and reform waiting lists, including ambitious targets for significantly reducing hospital scheduled care waiting lists to their lowest level in five years, as well as radically reducing waiting times.
Overall, active hospital waiting lists have remained broadly within the targets of the 2022 Waiting List Action Plan (WLAP) despite multiple challenges.
The first half of the year has been impacted by COVID-19 surges, with associated curtailment of elective activity resulting from managing increased COVID-19 positive patients in hospitals and reduced staffing levels from the higher prevalence of COVID-19 in the community. The number of COVID-positive patients in our hospitals exceeded 1,000 this week.
Recent high levels of Emergency Department attendances, especially when combined with increased COVID-19 prevalence, have also resulted in additional curtailment of elective activity in some hospitals, all of which is negatively impacting our ability to remain aligned to our ambitious waiting list reduction targets.
However, to date the loss of activity has been broadly compensated by lower additions to waiting lists. Lower hospital waiting list referrals is likely another impact of the COVID-19 surges, but enhanced direct access to diagnostics for GPs in the community is also helping.
There are recent indicators that hospital waiting list additions and removals are now returning to projected levels which means the HSE and the NTPF are focusing on the challenges of ramping up their additional activity levels, funded by the Plan, over the coming months to ensure we remain aligned with the targets set out in the Plan.
Despite these challenges, patients waiting more than 6 months for 15 ‘high volume procedures’ are on target to receive an offer of treatment by the NTPF in 2022. These procedures are currently being expanded to 20 and represent approximately a third of people currently on the IPDC waiting list.
A Waiting List Task Force, co-chaired by the Secretary General of my Department and HSE CEO, meets regularly to oversee and drive delivery of the Plan.
95. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health the number of persons currently waiting for an occupational therapy assessment in each LHO area in CHO5; the number waiting for treatment in each LHO in CHO5; the number in each category who have been waiting over a year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37512/22]
View answerThe number of persons currently waiting for an Occupational Therapy Assessment within the CHO South-East Community Healthcare Region, is as follows;
Carlow / Kilkenny - 1,960 of which 1,035 have been waiting over a year
South Tipperary- 688 of which 215 have been waiting over a year
Waterford - 1,029 of which 213 have been waiting over a year
Wexford- 1,392 of which 674 have been waiting over a year
The South East Community Healthcare Region of the HSE advise that once a client receives an Occupational Therapy assessment, a treatment plan is progressed so there are no waiting lists for treatment In addition, Occupational Therapy Waiting Lists are continually monitored in the overall context of available resources and prioritisation criteria. Unfortunately, all services within the HSE are currently experiencing significant recruitment challenges due to shortages of Health and Social Care Professionals, including Occupational Therapists. This has, regrettably, led to significant waiting times for services. The HSE advise that it is reviewing all options to address the current level of vacancies as quickly as possible.
