Written Answers Nos. 1686-1700
1686. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that there is a delay of six months or more for people who have retired from employment from section 38 voluntary organisations and voluntary hospitals to receive their pensions; his views on whether this is acceptable; the steps being taken to resolve this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17733/23]
View answerAs the payment of these pensions is an administrative matter for the Health Service Executive, the HSE has been requested to respond directly to the Deputy.
1687. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health when a pension will be paid to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17735/23]
View answerAs this is an administrative matter for the Health Service Executive, the HSE has been requested to respond directly to the Deputy.
1688. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) who having been fitted and approved for a replacement wheelchair in 2019, has yet to receive the wheelchair; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17740/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1689. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Health when a child (details supplied) will be called for a procedure considering that he has been on the waiting list since October 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17745/23]
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.
1690. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the current number of medical negligence claims that are pending against each of the 19 maternity hospitals, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17749/23]
View answer1691. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health to provide details of each of the medical negligence claims made against the 19 maternity hospitals; which of these said claims have been settled over the past five years, in tabular form for each of the 19 individual maternity units; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17750/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1690 and 1691 together.
The State Claims Agency (SCA) has a statutory remit to manage personal injury claims on behalf of Delegated State Authorities including the Health Service Executive.
I have been informed by the SCA that the information contained within this document has been extracted from the National Incident Management System (NIMS) according to the below criteria.
As some Maternity units are embedded within larger hospitals and are not standalone facilities the information provided relates only to clinical care claims in Maternity Services across all units.
The SCA does not release transaction data into the public domain at individual hospital level because to do so would effectively provide a league table of hospitals and could cause the public to draw false and unwarranted assumptions in relation to the clinical performance of an individual hospital in the absence of further relevant contextual information.
Criteria used
• The figures relate to clinical care claims under Maternity Services in the 19 maternity units hospitals (see appendix).
• The figures relate to any type of clinical claim where the service has been recorded as Maternity Services.
• Table 1 shows the number of active claims.
• Table 2 shows the number of claims created historically.
• Table 3 shows the list of hospitals with maternity units
• This report is correct as of 31/03/2023.
I have been informed by the SCA that there are 886 active clinical maternity service claims for the 19 hospitals with maternity units as of 31/03/2023, as set out in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Active claims for the 19 hospitals with maternity units as of 31/03/2023.
|
Location at Level 2 |
Number of Active Claims |
|
Group 1 - RCSI Hospitals Group |
202 |
|
Group 2 - Dublin Midlands Hospital Group |
123 |
|
Group 3 - Ireland East Hospital Group |
181 |
|
Group 4 - South/South West Hospital Group |
151 |
|
Group 5 - Saolta University Health Care Group |
159 |
|
Group 6 - University of Limerick Hospital Group |
70 |
|
Grand Total |
886 |
I have also been informed by the SCA that 2,336 clinical maternity service claims have been created for the 19 hospitals with maternity units as of 31/03/2023. Of these, 652 claims have been finalised between 2018 and 2023 YTD (to end March), as set out in Table 2.
Table 2: All claims received and claims finalised between 2018-2023 YTD for the 19 hospitals with maternity units as of 31/03/2023.
|
Location at Level 2 |
All Claims Received |
Claims Finalised 2018-2023 YTD (to end March) |
|
Group 1 - RCSI Hospitals Group |
567 |
139 |
|
Group 2 - Dublin Midlands Hospital Group |
383 |
113 |
|
Group 3 - Ireland East Hospital Group |
449 |
126 |
|
Group 4 - South/South West Hospital Group |
364 |
118 |
|
Group 5 - Saolta University Health Care Group |
426 |
122 |
|
Group 6 - University of Limerick Hospital Group |
147 |
34 |
|
Grand Total |
2,336 |
652 |
Table 3: List of Hospitals with Maternity Units
|
19 Maternity Units |
|
|
Cavan General Hospital |
|
|
Cork University Maternity Hospital |
|
|
Letterkenny University Hospital |
|
|
Mayo University Hospital |
|
|
Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar |
|
|
Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise |
|
|
National Maternity Hospital |
|
|
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda |
|
|
Portiuncula University Hospital |
|
|
Rotunda Hospital |
|
|
Sligo University Hospital |
|
|
St. Luke's General Hospital, Kilkenny |
|
|
The Coombe Women & Infant University Hospital |
|
|
Tipperary University Hospital |
|
|
University Hospital Galway |
|
|
University Hospital Kerry |
|
|
University Hospital Waterford |
|
|
University Maternity Hospital Limerick |
|
|
Wexford General Hospital |
Definitions:
National Incident Management System (NIMS): Incidents (which include claims) are reported using the “National Incident Management System”. This is hosted by the State Claims Agency (SCA) for the HSE, other Healthcare enterprises and State Authorities. An incident can be a harmful Incident (Adverse Event), no harm incident, near miss, dangerous occurrence (reportable circumstance) or complaint.
Claim Create Date: Official date that the claim was created on NIMS. If a record is first logged to the system as a claim, the "Claim Create Date" and "Create Date" will be the same, however, if a record was once an incident and subsequently transitioned into a claim, the "Claim Create Date" will differ from the "Create Date", with the "Create Date" representing the date the incident was first recorded, and the "Claim Create Date" representing the date the record transitioned to a Claim.
Claim Finalised Date: The date when a claim has been finalised in NIMS and all other matters associated with it have been agreed e.g. costs. All associated payments will have been issued or will be in process of being paid.
There may still be reimbursements outstanding on a finalised claim.
Claim: A claim refers to notification of intention to seek compensation for personal injury and/or property damage where it is alleged the State was negligent. The application may be in the form of a letter of claim, an InjuriesBoard.ie application, or a written/oral request.
Clinical Claim: A claim which falls under the Incident Hazard category of Clinical Care. This category includes incidents relating to the provision of services of a diagnostic or palliative nature. It also includes incidents relating to the provision of treatment. Incidents present in this category will be related to Labour/Delivery, Diagnosis, Surgical/Medical, Care Management, Clinical Procedure, medication incidents or nutrition/blood related incidents.
1692. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) is still waiting for an operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17753/23]
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.
1693. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm when increased pension payments and arrears will be paid to retired nurses and other HSE staff; and if the payments will be expedited. [17764/23]
View answerAs this is an administrative matter for the Health Service Executive, the HSE has been requested to respond directly to the Deputy.
1694. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the number of Departmental staff currently on sick or stress leave; and the number who took stress or sick leave in each of the past five years and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [17781/23]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is set out below.
|
Year |
Total number of staff who availed of Stress or Sick Leave |
|
2018 |
271 |
|
2019 |
288 |
|
2020 |
178 |
|
2021 |
191 |
|
2022 |
257 |
|
2023 to date |
99 |
As of the 12th of April there were 21 members of staff on sick leave in the Department.
1695. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the number of allegations of bullying made by departmental staff against departmental staff in each of the past five years, and to date in 2023, in tabular form; and if he will detail what actions are being taken by his Department to investigate the allegations, or if they are being investigated. [17799/23]
View answerThe Civil Service Dignity at Work Policy applies to the staff of the Department of Health. In line with the policy, every member of staff has been made aware that all forms of bullying are unacceptable and that every member of staff has a duty to behave in an acceptable and respectful manner. All complaints received are dealt with in line with the policy.
There has been one complaint in my Department during the years 2016 to 2018, one in 2019 and one in 2022.
1696. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the number of Departmental staff dismissed in each of the past ten years and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [17817/23]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that two staff members of my Department were dismissed in 2020.
1697. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health the number of persons that have availed of gambling addiction services in the health service in 2021, 2022 and to do date in 2023. [17828/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1699. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the payment of the pandemic bonus payment for contracted security staff; when he expects this to be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17836/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
1700. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite an appointment for a person (details supplied). [17840/23]
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.
