Written Answers Nos. 553-574
553. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health the position on the importation of medical devices in respect of equipment used by people with disabilities; and the criteria for shipment here, such as whether the frequency of importation is decided on the basis of cost, volume or need. [45880/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
554. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the number of whole time equivalent vacant posts by role currently unfilled in each of the individual symptomatic breast disease clinics, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45883/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
555. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the number of whole time equivalent vacant posts by role currently unfilled in each of the individual prostate rapid access clinics, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45884/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
556. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the number of whole time equivalent vacant posts by role currently unfilled in each of the individual lung rapid access clinics, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45885/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
557. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the number of whole-time equivalent radiology posts currently unfilled in each of the individual symptomatic breast disease clinics, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45886/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
558. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the number of radiologists to perform diagnostic tests working in each of the individual symptomatic breast disease clinics in each of the years 2012 to 2022 respectively, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45887/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
559. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health when the national lymphoedema clinical guidelines will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45888/22]
View answerMy Department is aware that this clinical guideline has been developed and is supported by the HSE. As this relates to an operational matter, I am referring the question to the HSE for direct reply on the status of the clinical guideline.
560. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health when the National Cancer Strategy Implementation Report 2021 will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45889/22]
View answerThe National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026 Implementation Report 2021 is currently being finalised and it is intended that this Report will be published shortly.The annual Implementation Report will detail progress made to end 2021, including:
- Introduction of provisions prohibiting alcohol advertising on a sports area during a sporting event or at events aimed at children;
- Launch of updated GP guidelines for referrals to symptomatic breast disease clinics, to increase the appropriateness of referrals;
- Increased patient attendances at Rapid Access Clinics (RACs) and adherence to national KPIs. This includes strong recovery from the impact of Covid-19, with new RAC attendances in 2021 at 102% of 2019 levels;
- 26 acute oncology nurses in place in the 26 SACT hospitals to assist with ED avoidance for cancer patients;
- CAR-T novel immunotherapy treatment available for the first time in Ireland for adults at St. James's Hospital;
- New radiation oncology facility in CUH fully operational, and construction continuing for the new Galway facility;
- Delivery of survivorship programmes including ‘Cancer Thriving and Surviving’ and ‘Life and Cancer – Enhancing Survivorship (LACES)’; and
- Development and dissemination of best practice guidelines for community cancer support centres.
562. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the current number of children and young people referred by the HSE to the Tavistock Centre in London for treatment as of August 2022. [45894/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.
563. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the revised care plan for children and young people referred to the Tavistock Centre for treatment following the publication of a review (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45895/22]
View answer564. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the status of his plans for the provision of care for trans children and young people; the staffing levels and current funding available for such services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45896/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 563 and 564 together.
The Tavistock Clinic provides psychological assessments for Irish children seeking gender identity services, under the Treatment Abroad Scheme. The TAS enables a public healthcare consultant to refer a patient to the public health service in the EU, UK or Switzerland for treatment not available in Ireland. Once the criteria are met, the HSE is obliged to fund the care. A NHS-commissioned review of the clinic has recommended closure and a move to a local/regional approach to service provision, in line with other paediatric services.
The HSE is reviewing the NHS report and assessing the potential impact for existing pathways of care and service delivery. The HSE national clinical advisory and group lead for mental health meets regularly with Tavistock Clinic to discuss waiting list issues. The HSE has not received any complaints about the services provided by the clinic. The HSE is actively seeking services in other countries to replace the Tavistock Clinic.
The Department received a report on the Cass report from the Office of the National Clinical Director and Lead for Integrated Care in the HSE, which is currently being considered.
The report of the steering committee on the development of HSE transgender services was published in 2020. The report acknowledged the additional funding made available to develop services in recent years. It advised on the development of seamless interfaces between agencies providing gender services and developed a job description for a consultant psychiatrist in child and adolescent psychiatry to lead on the development of a services for those aged under 18 years. Subsequently, this position was advertised twice but has not yet been filled.
Minister Donnelly and Minister Butler recently held a constructive meeting with a number of clinicians from the National Gender Service. They intend to meet with the HSE and other stakeholders to hear their views and proposals.
Minister Donnelly, Minister Butler and I are committed to working with the HSE to provide a gender identify service that meets the health needs of children and young people.
565. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Health the status of the current outstanding pandemic recognition payments; the number of payments outstanding to eligible healthcare workers; the healthcare sectors that are yet to receive the payment; when the pandemic recognition payment will be paid to frontline healthcare staff in private nursing homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45897/22]
View answerThe rollout of the Pandemic Recognition Payment for eligible HSE and Section 38 employees is currently receiving priority. As of Friday, 9 September, 85,078 eligible HSE staff have received payment around the country. This number excludes Section 38 agencies which are estimated to have paid 37,589 staff to date thereby bringing the total number of employees paid to 122,667.
The HSE and the Department have been examining progressing the rollout of the Pandemic Recognition Payment to the list of 6 non-HSE/non-Section 38 organisation types covered by the Government Decision. This measure will be ring fenced to staff working ordinarily onsite in COVID-19 exposed healthcare environments. 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. Members of the Defence Forces redeployed to work in frontline Covid-19 exposed environments in the HSE;
6. Paramedics employed by Dublin Fire Brigade to deliver services on behalf of the HSE.
In relation to eligible staff in cohorts 1-4 above, in order to progress the payment of the Pandemic Recognition Payment, the HSE has published an invitation to tender for a third-party contractor to assist with the payment process. The invitation to tender remained open for potential tenderers to apply for the contract until the 9th of September 2022. It is expected that once a contract is in place, information will be published shortly thereafter to facilitate applications and payment. Once this process is in place, the Department is keen that payments to eligible workers will be made as soon as possible thereafter.
With regard to eligible staff in cohorts 5 and 6, the Department of Health is engaging with the Department of Defence, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to progress payments to these cohorts as soon as possible.
566. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Health if there is a national database for recording and documenting cases and related information on diabetes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45901/22]
View answerSláintecare Integration funding was allocated to the HSE in 2019 to design and procure a National Diabetes Registry demonstrator product and develop a full specification plan for a National Diabetes Registry. However, the support of public health and ICT was required and, due to COVID-19 pandemic, this work could not be continued and funding was returned.
The development of a national diabetes registry remains a priority. Following substantial increases in investment in eHealth, the national diabetes registry is now being considered as part of a wider review of Ireland’s health information strategy and will operate as a “virtual” registry.
Government approval was given in April to prepare the General Scheme of a Health Information Bill. It is envisaged that the Bill will include a provision to enable the operation of disease-specific “virtual” registries, including a virtual national diabetes registry, where information on disease diagnoses and treatment from healthcare providers is efficiently collated, combined and quality-checked from administrative records to create a database akin to an active registry for each disease. This will greatly improve the potential to monitor rare-disease prevalence in Ireland.
The General Scheme is currently being prepared for submission to Government in Q4 2022.
567. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Health if there is a national policy on the provision of mobility equipment and disability aids such as wheelchairs that ensures equality of access and provision across each CHO area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45903/22]
View answerThe Health Service Executive (HSE) provides a wide range of medical and surgical aids and appliances, including wheelchairs, free of charge to eligible persons (such as medical card holders and people on the Long-Term Illness scheme) following assessment by a relevant health professional.
These are provided through community services known as Community Funded Schemes and play a key role in assisting and supporting people to maintain everyday functioning, and to remain living in their homes and local community.
Each Community Health Organisation (CHO) operates processes for the allocation of funding for medical and surgical aids and appliances. Each application within a CHO is assessed by the local Resource Allocation Group and a determination is made regarding approval based on clinical priority and the funding availability within local budgets.
Currently, many of these aids and appliances are not provided on a standardised basis across the country and many do not yet have formal contracts in place governing their supply or price. This has resulted in an inequality of access for some aids and appliances in some areas. In addition, it does not allow the HSE to deliver best value for money in the provision of these aids and appliances.
The HSE National Service Improvement Programme has the aim of improving the equity of access, value for money, and functional processes of the Community Funded Schemes through the establishment of national standards and guidelines for the provision of medical and surgical aids and appliances.
The scale of this Programme is enormous given that many thousands of items are provided from community-based services across the country. While this work was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Programme has now recommenced, and significant work in relation to the standardisation of these itemised lists has been completed to date.
568. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he will take measures to expedite the payment of the pandemic recognition payment to eligible staff in the non-HSE and non-Section 38 sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45905/22]
View answerThe HSE and the Department have been examining progressing the rollout of the Pandemic Recognition Payment to the list of 6 non-HSE/non-Section 38 organisation types covered by the Government Decision. This measure will be ring fenced to staff working ordinarily onsite in COVID-19 exposed healthcare environments. 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. Members of the Defence Forces redeployed to work in frontline Covid-19 exposed environments in the HSE;
6. Paramedics employed by Dublin Fire Brigade to deliver services on behalf of the HSE.
Information will be published shortly for those certain non-HSE/non-Section 38 healthcare employees that are covered by the Government Decision and the process available to their employers to implement this measure for their eligible staff.
Once this process is published, the Department is keen that payments to eligible workers will be made as soon as possible thereafter.
569. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if he will retain the 18-bed capacity at the centre for mental health care in Bantry and reject the recommendation of the Mental Health Commission to reduce the capacity to 11 beds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45907/22]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
570. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Health when frontline workers employed by private nursing homes will receive their pandemic bonus payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45914/22]
View answerThe HSE and the Department have been examining progressing the rollout of the Pandemic Recognition Payment to the list of 6 non-HSE/non-Section 38 organisation types covered by the Government Decision. This measure will be ring fenced to staff working ordinarily onsite in COVID-19 exposed healthcare environments. 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. Members of the Defence Forces redeployed to work in frontline Covid-19 exposed environments in the HSE;
6. Paramedics employed by Dublin Fire Brigade to deliver services on behalf of the HSE.
Information will be published shortly for those certain non-HSE/non-Section 38 healthcare employees that are covered by the Government Decision and the process available to their employers to implement this measure for their eligible staff.
Once this process is published, the Department is keen that payments to eligible workers will be made as soon as possible thereafter.
571. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the case of a person (details supplied) who following a CT scan has been referred to the ear, nose and throat section of University Hospital Limerick to address a sinus issue, and has been advised by the section that there are no available dates for an appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45916/22]
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.
572. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the reason that oral sex was maintained as grounds for deferral of men who have sex with men in donating blood, following a previous decision of the board of an organisation (details supplied) to remove oral sex as a basis for deferral; if there was concern about this specific change in policy; the reason that this was not raised during the process engaged in by the Social Behaviours Review Group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45928/22]
View answer573. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health if the individualised risk assessment system to be introduced for all prospective blood donors from December 2022 will reflect the three-month deferral policy used in the United Kingdom; if not, the reason for the difference; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45929/22]
View answer574. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health if the replacement of the health and lifestyle questionnaire with an electronic self-assessment health history questionnaire by an organisation (details supplied) will be completed, as anticipated, in Q3 of 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45930/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 572 to 574, inclusive, together.
The remit of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is to provide a safe, reliable and robust blood service to the Irish health system. A major objective of the IBTS is to ensure that it always has the necessary programmes and procedures in place to protect both the recipients and the donors of blood and blood products. The IBTS constantly keeps all deferral policies under active review, in the light of scientific evidence, emerging infections and international evidence, to ensure the ongoing safety of blood and the products derived from it.
The IBTS established an independent ‘Advisory Committee for Social Behaviours Review’ to review the evidence base for donor selection, deferral and exclusion in Ireland in relation to social behaviours that may increase the risk of acquiring specific blood-borne infections.
In relation to the implementation of the Social Behaviour Review Group's recommendations, the IBTS determined that oral sex between gay and bisexual Men who have Sex with Men (gbMSM) would be one of a number of sexual behaviours which would be considered in the comprehensive risk assessment undertaken as part of the implementation process. This mirrors the approach previously taken by the UK Blood Services with the introduction of the FAIR system of individual assessment.
The deferral period in Ireland is four months as that is the deferral period used in the EU Blood Directive. For some deferrals the Directive does state three months, and this will be evaluated once the extensive revision of the EU Directive, currently in progress, is completed and the updated Directive implemented.
With regard to the electronic questionnaire, due to complexity of the modifications required to existing blood systems, the implementation of the electronic health questionnaire has been delayed until the end of Q1 2023. The IBTS will however be implementing a safe paper-based version of the individualised donor risk assessment by the end of the 2022. Again, this is similar to the approach taken by the UK blood services.
