Written Answers Nos. 812-831
812. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the volume of prophylactic surgery for cancer risk factors by hospital on a quarterly basis for each of the years 2010 to 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37162/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
813. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the volume of prophylactic surgery for breast cancer risk factors by hospital on a quarterly basis for each of the years 2010 to 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37163/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
814. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the volume of prophylactic surgery for ovarian cancer risk factors by hospital on a quarterly basis for each of the years 2010 to 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37164/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
815. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Health the health promotion activities that will be undertaken to promote awareness, understanding and the uptake of the free contraception scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37166/22]
View answerThe Programme for Government, 2020 commits to providing free contraception for women, starting with the 17-25 age cohort. My Department's Contraception Implementation Group, convened in July, 2021, has been working with partners, including the HSE, towards ensuring that the scheme will commence in late August or early September 2022. Funding of approximately €9m has been allocated for this in Budget 2022.The scheme will be open to all 17-25 year-old women ordinarily resident in Ireland and will provide for:
- The cost of prescription contraception;
- The cost of necessary consultations with medical professionals to discuss suitable contraception options with individual patients and to enable prescription of same;
- The cost of fitting and/or removal of various types of long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) plus any necessary checks, by medical professionals certified to fit/remove same;
- The cost of training and certifying additional medical professionals to fit and remove LARCs;
- The cost of providing the wide range of contraceptive options currently available to GMS (medical) card holders, which will also be available through this scheme, including contraceptive injections, implants, IUS and IUDs (coils), the contraceptive patch and ring, and various forms of oral contraceptive pill, including emergency contraception.
Formal consultations with medical representative bodies with regard to service provision under the scheme have commenced and are ongoing. The legal framework for the scheme will be provided by the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill, 2022, which was passed by the Dáil on 6th July, 2022 and will be debated by Seanad Éireann on 12th July, 2022.
The design of citizen engagement information and publicity campaigns to support and promote the roll out of the scheme will be finalised in the coming weeks by officials in the Department’s Press and Communications Team, the HSE’s Communications team and relevant subject matter experts. This will build upon the information already available through HSE- led and HSE-funded websites which provide information about sexual heath and wellbeing, including www.sexualwellbeing.ie.
It should be noted that some access to free contraception is already enabled, through the National Condom Distribution Service (NCDS), which was established by the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP) in October 2015.The NCDS functions as a central point for distributing free condoms and lubricant sachets to HSE services and other organisations working with individuals and groups at increased risk of negative sexual health outcomes. The service was extended to 3rd level institutions in late 2019. Third-level institutions can now order condom dispensers from the HSE, which enable the provision of free condoms and sexual health information to students on campuses nationwide.
While oral contraception and various forms of long-acting reversible contraception can be more effective at preventing pregnancy, condoms provide protection against STIs that is not provided by non-barrier forms of contraception. It is envisaged that continued expansion of the NCDS will be facilitated in line with demand, in order to support the STI prevention and sexual health promotion needs of people living in Ireland.
816. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the findings of a recently published report commissioned by the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care which found that a 40% increase in the rate of persons quitting smoking was required each year for the target of less than 5% smoking prevalence in England by 2030 to be met; the way that he proposes to achieve similar increases in the numbers of persons quitting given the Tobacco Free Ireland objective for 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37181/22]
View answer817. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Health if he will request his officials to consider the recently published report commissioned by the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in completing the process of drafting the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2019 following the release by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health of the report on the Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37182/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 816 and 817 together.
I note the report referred to by the Deputy, and my Department continues to monitor available evidence and policy developments globally in relation to tobacco control.
Achieving a smokefree Ireland requires a multi-faceted approach, acknowledging the importance of prevention as well as cessation. For this reason, our national tobacco control policy - Tobacco Free Ireland - contains over 60 recommendations across a range of tobacco control issues, underpinned by the need to protect children and denormalise smoking. Progress on implementing those recommendations is reported in the Tobacco Free Ireland Annual Report which is published by my Department each year.
The Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill, which will implement a number of Tobacco Free Ireland recommendations, including introducing a licensing system for the retail sale of tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products, is a priority of Government and is currently being drafted by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel
819. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health the projected cost of providing access to support workers and personal assistants for autistic adults and of legislating for the right to personal assistance for people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37196/22]
View answerThe HSE provides a range of assisted living services including Personal Assistant (PA) Services to support individuals to maximise their capacity to live full and independent lives.
PA Services are not accessed by disability, they are accessed through an application process or through referrals from public health nurses or other community based staff. Individual’s needs are evaluated against the criteria for prioritisation for the particular services and then decisions are made in relation to the allocation of resources.
Resource allocation is determined by the needs of the individual, compliance with prioritisation criteria, and the level of resources available. It is important to note that the level of service delivered is varied to ensure that each client’s needs are reflected.
The HSE’s priority is to continue to deliver high quality PA Services in 2022 to 2,500 people with disabilities. In accordance with the National Service Plan 2022, the HSE will deliver 1.7 million PA hours, including 120,000 additional hours, to expand and enhance supports for people to live self-directed lives in their own
The Programme for Government commits to the development of an implementation plan to co-ordinate implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This would include examining how best to ensure that people with disabilities can access the support services, including Personal Assistance, that they require to participate in their community.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth have no plans for additional legislation governing the rights, entitlements and operations associated with the PA service at this time.
820. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 771 of 21 June 2022, the recruitment methods that have been used since April 2022 to fill the posts; the posts that are vacant; and the cost of recruitment for this CAMHS section to date in 2022. [37206/22]
View answer821. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 771 of 21 June 2022, if he stands over a waiting list time of 21 months for a child. [37207/22]
View answer822. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 771 of 21 June 2022, the waiting times for all those presenting to North Cork CAMHS, in tabular form. [37208/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 820 to 822, inclusive, together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Question No. 821 answered with Question No. 820.
823. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 771 of 21 June 2022, if consideration is being given to utilising other CAMHS units that do not have vacancies in staff to ease the waiting time burden on the family. [37209/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
824. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of persons waiting to be seen by CAMHS by CHO and LHO in tabular form; and the length of time that persons are waiting to be seen. [37210/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
825. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the details of the meetings that he has held on progressing disability services in the past month; the persons who attended those meetings; and if minutes of the meetings were kept. [37213/22]
View answerI met with a number of Community Healthcare Organisations in the past month, the details of which, are as followsCHO8: Wednesday 1st June and 29th JuneCHO1: Wednesday, 8th JuneCHO2: Wednesday, 8th JuneCHO3: Wednesday, 8th JuneCHO5: Thursday, 9th JuneCHO6: Thursday, 9th June
CHO4: Thursday, 30th June CHO9: Thursday, 30th June
These meetings were attended by senior officials from the respective CHOs in each case and also the Department of Health. From a Department of Health's perspective, minutes of the meetings were not taken.
826. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of respite beds available in each LHO and CHO by institution and setting in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37221/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
827. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 798 of 20 June 2022, the number of the 3.51 children's disability network team speech and language therapist posts that are on secondment; the location to which they have been seconded; the date that they will they return from secondment; if any of the 3.51 posts are currently operating as speech and language therapists either full-time or part-time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37234/22]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to a service issue, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
828. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health if his attention has be drawn to the fact that a number of non-patient facing senior mental health managers in CHO4 were offered first-dose Covid-19 vaccines in early January 2021 ahead of vulnerable patient and staff groups, including older adults residing in congregated settings and nursing staff working in these settings; his plans to investigate the number of senior managers who had considerable influence over the roll-out of the vaccine in local services who availed of priority vaccines at this critical stage of the pandemic in the knowledge that vulnerable patient and staff groups were not yet scheduled for vaccines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37238/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
829. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health when he will publish information for those other certain healthcare employees who are covered by the Government decision in relation to the pandemic bonus payment; the process available to their employers to implement this measure for eligible staff; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37267/22]
View answerFirstly I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all healthcare workers for their efforts during this most challenging period.
As the deputy is aware, on January 19th, the Government announced a COVID-19 pandemic recognition payment for frontline public sector healthcare workers, to recognise their unique role during the pandemic. Following extensive engagement with healthcare unions on the matter, on 19th April the HSE published eligibility guidelines and FAQs, as apply to the HSE and Section 38 agencies, which are available on its website: www.hse.ie/eng/staff/resources/hr-circulars/hr-circular-012-2022-pandemic-special-recognition-payment.html. Payment is currently receiving priority across all Hospital Groups and Community Services in the HSE.
The HSE and the Department are currently examining progressing the rollout to the list of 6 non-HSE/non-Section 38 organisation types covered by the Government Decision. It is hoped that information will be published shortly for those certain non-HSE/S38 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:
1. Private Sector Nursing Homes and Hospices (e.g. Private, Voluntary, Section 39 etc.);
2. Eligible staff working on-site in Section 39 long-term residential care facilities for people with disabilities;
3. Agency roles working in the HSE;
4. Health Care Support Assistants (also known as home help / home care / home support) contracted to the HSE;
5. Redeployed members of Department of Defence to work in frontline Covid-19 exposed environments for the HSE;
6. Paramedics employed by the Department of Local Government, Housing and Heritage.
Rolling out the payment to eligible employees of those specific non-HSE/Section 38 organisations covered by the government decision is a complex task, particularly as these employees are not normally paid by the public health service, duplicate payments need to be avoided, and there are many organisations to be covered, but this work is being given priority attention.
831. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the drug reimbursement decisions that have been made by the HSE drugs group and executive management team respectively in each of its meetings from January 2018 to date in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37271/22]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicines under the community drugs schemes, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013,
I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
