Written Answers Nos. 803-819
803. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health if the cost of legal representation of HSE staff who are not at management level is covered by the organisation in Grievance or Dignity At Work cases taken against them by less senior ranking HSE staff, or if this is extended solely to managers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24534/23]
View answerI have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.
804. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health if he will announce the launch date for the income limit for the GP visit card to be increased to include people on or below the median income original date from April 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24535/23]
View answerThe Government is committed to the extension of GP visit card eligibility to those who earn the median household income or less, as announced in Budget 2023.
In total, approximately 400,000 additional individuals are estimated to become eligible under this expansion. This measure will remove the cost of accessing GP care from those for whom cost is most likely to prevent access; helping reduce the cost of living for young adults and young families in particular.
The necessary planning and administrative development work to provide for the expansion is well advanced in preparation for the commencement of the expansion. Officials from my Department and the HSE are currently engaged in intensive discussions with the IMO regarding the expansion and in particular the IMO concerns on the impact of increased eligibility on general practice and the best use of the additional funding provided in Budget 2023 to support capacity in general practice.
Information in relation to the commencement of the expansion and operational information will be provided when available.
805. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health to confirm that no sickness insurance scheme provided for by law or regulation exists in Ireland within the meaning of Regulation No 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC), laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (the "EU Staff Regulation"); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24549/23]
View answerUnder the provisions of the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for health services in Ireland is based primarily on residency and means. The Health Act 1970 (as amended) provides for two categories of eligibility for persons ordinarily resident in the country, i.e. full eligibility (medical card holders) and limited eligibility (all others). Adults with full eligibility can access a range of services including GP services, prescribed drugs and medicines, all in-patient public hospital services in public wards, including consultants’ services, all out-patient public hospital services including consultants’ services, dental, ophthalmic, and aural services and appliances, and maternity and infant care service.
Persons with limited eligibility are eligible for acute public in-patient hospital services in public hospitals and outpatient public hospital services including consultant services, Emergency Department, or minor injury care, are subject to certain charges. Other services such as allied healthcare professional services may also be made available to persons with limited eligibility.
Private health insurance in Ireland is regulated under the Health Insurance Acts (1994 -2022). The Irish market is a voluntary private health insurance market for those who are ordinarily resident in Ireland. The Irish market operates under four key principles – community rating, open enrolment, lifetime cover and minimum benefits. It is not compulsory for anyone to buy private health insurance in Ireland. More information on the policies and type of cover available can be found on the Health Insurance Authority’s website. www.hia.ie
Illness Benefit is a legislative scheme in Ireland which is funded through PRSI (Pay-Related Social Insurance) contributions that are deducted at source from the salaries of employees along with contributions from employers.
The scheme is currently legislated for under: • Part 2 - Chapter 8 (Sections 40 to 46) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 Number 26 of 2005, as amended And • Part 2 - Chapter 1 (Articles 20 to 28) of Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims Payments and Control) Regulations, 2007 (S.I. no. 142 of 2007) as amended Illness Benefit is an insured income support provided to those who are certified as being unable to work due to illness of any kind in the first instance.
There are other illness related payments that are provided for through either PRSI or through direct welfare provision, but Illness Benefit is specifically for those who become ill and are insured through PRSI contributions made while in employment.
The range of illness related supports provided by the Department of Social Protection can be found in the following publication "Your Guide to our Schemes and Services: Illness, Disability and Caring" (August 2022). It is currently available at the following web address: www.gov.ie/en/publication/5b72a-illness-disability-and-carer
806. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health the number of homecare support hours for older people provided in each LHO area in 2020, 2021 and 2022; the allocation in each LHO for 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24560/23]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
807. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Health the names of all residential drug rehabilitation centres to which the HSE awards core funding; and the amount of funds they receive, in tabular form. [24591/23]
View answer808. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Health the number of beds each HSE-funded residential drug rehabilitation centre has, in tabular form. [24592/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 807 and 808 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
809. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if he will appoint a dedicated full-time project management team to implement the plan to develop a Model 4 Hospital at University Hospital Galway, including the new cancer centre, bed block, emergency department, maternity department and paediatric department to ensure a coordinated delivery of the entire facility by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24599/23]
View answerDesign teams have already been appointed to deliver the new Emergency Department (ED), Women and Children’s block, replacement laboratories and cancer centre proposals at University Hospital Galway (UHG). At any one time there are multiple capital investment projects underway on the UHG campus involving different design teams and different works contractors. It is normal practice for there to be different design teams in place to deliver different projects on a single site.
Capital investment proposals of significant scale such as the Emergency Department (ED), Women and Children's Block, the regional cancer centre and the replacement Laboratories are independent projects which must be subject to development and approval in line with the Public Spending Code requirements. The ED and Women & Children’s Block proposal and the replacement Laboratories potential locations are sufficiently distanced from each other on the UHG campus that they could be developed concurrently without affecting the delivery of services, subject to the fulfilment of PSC requirements and the availability of funding within the Department’s National Development Plan capital envelope. The replacement laboratories, a significant development in its own right, is an enabling project for the regional Cancer Centre proposals and is currently envisaged as proceeding to construction ahead of the Cancer Centre development.
Overall co-ordination for all works / projects on the campus is achieved through close working relationships locally between HSE Capital & Estates, Saolta Hospital Group and management at Galway University Hospitals.
Strategies to mitigate any potential disruption to services while delivering capital works projects on a live, and extremely busy, hospital site are developed in advance of construction works and during the project lifecycle as part of an overall risk assessment.
810. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health his views on the WHO proposal for an international treaty to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response; to outline the engagement he has had with the European Union, the World Health Organization and the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on the matter; the role Ireland will play in the negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24608/23]
View answerThe COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that the global status quo in terms of pandemic preparedness and response is not adequate and needs revision and as such, Ireland strongly supports a multilateral approach to global health issues with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a central leadership role.
On 1 December 2021, the members of the World Health Organisation reached consensus to begin the process to negotiate a convention, agreement, or other international instrument to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. Ireland supports the WHO-led process to negotiate a binding legal instrument on pandemic preparedness and response. The aim of such a Pandemic Agreement is to protect public health and to help save lives in the event of future pandemics.
An Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) was established and met for the first time on 24 February 2022. The INB has met five times to date and is due to meet again in July to progress work on drafting the agreement. A progress report will be delivered to the 76th World Health Assembly this month, with the aim of adopting the instrument by 2024.
Ireland has been participating in the INB process along with EU partners and is also, along with a majority of EU Member States, part of the Group of Friends of the Treaty. It should be noted that while certain health matters are within the competency of EU Member States, other health matters are within the competency of the EU itself. The Group of Friends of the Treaty strongly supports an agreement that would foster an all-of-government and all-of-society approach, strengthening national, regional, and global capacities and resilience to future pandemics.
Ireland is advocating for an ambitious, fair, and implementable agreement to protect public health through better pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
Officials in my Department, working with Ireland's Permanent Representation to the UN in Geneva, are engaging, and will continue to engage, with the Group of Friends, other Government Departments, the EU negotiator, other EU Member States, and the INB bureau in this process.
811. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) will be given a date to have their rescheduled operation. [24616/23]
View answerI fully acknowledge the distress and inconvenience for patients and their families when elective procedures are cancelled, particularly for clinically urgent procedures. While every effort is made to avoid cancellation or postponement of planned procedures, the HSE has advised that planned procedures and operations can be postponed or cancelled for a variety of reasons including capacity issues due to increased scheduled and unscheduled care demand.
Patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically-aligned and prioritised way, hospitals are following HSE clinical guidelines and protocols.
Under 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.
812. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Health the number of patients that are waiting for a knee replacement in Galway; the average wait time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24715/23]
View answer813. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Health the number of patients that are waiting for a hip replacement in Galway; the average wait time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24716/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 812 and 813 together.
It is recognised that waiting times for many scheduled appointments and procedures were too long before and have been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to identify ways to improve access to care. On the 7th March, I published the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, which is the next stage of a new multi-annual approach to sustainably reduce and reform hospital waiting lists, and builds on the foundational work done through the short-term Waiting List Action Plan between September and December 2021, which was followed by the first full year Waiting List Action Plan for 2022, both having reversed the annual trend of rising waiting lists.
The 2023 Plan sets out the priorities to continue to address waiting lists this year. The 30 actions in the Plan, which are governed by the Waiting List Task Force, focus on delivering capacity, reforming scheduled care and enabling scheduled care reform.
For 2023, funding totalling €443 million is being allocated to tackle Waiting Lists with €363 million of this being allocated to the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, to implement longer term reforms and provide additional public and private activity to clear backlogs exacerbated during the pandemic. This will reduce hospital waiting lists by 10% in 2023 as well as continuing to significantly reduce waiting times in line with Sláintecare recommendations. The remaining €80 million of the €443 million is being targeted at various measures to alleviate community/primary care waiting lists.
With this ambitious 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, my Department, the HSE and the NTPF are taking the next steps in the multi-annual approach towards achieving our vision of a world-class public healthcare system in which everyone has timely and transparent access to high-quality scheduled care, where and when they need it, in line with Sláintecare reforms.
The attached document outlines the requested waiting times for hip & knee replacement at Galway University Hospital. The NTPF has advised that the health system does not collect the data necessary to calculate average wait times. In particular, the time to treatment of patients who have already received their care is not collected. The NTPF collects data on patients currently on the waiting list and the average time that these patients have been waiting is provided here.
814. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health if he will provide figures on HSE spending on private companies providing home care services in 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form by year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24723/23]
View answerAs these are operational matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
815. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) is waiting on a cataract operation. [24724/23]
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.
816. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health when an issue at University Hospital Limerick will be resolved (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24747/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
817. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm when all those who have not yet received the pandemic recognition payment but are entitled to it will receive the payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24748/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
818. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health if a national strategy for haemochromatosis is currently under consideration, where everyone has equal access to testing, diagnosis, treatment and quality of care, regardless of where they live in Ireland or their financial circumstances; if consideration has been given to the development of a population screening programme for haemochromatosis in primary and hospital care settings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24754/23]
View answerI am fully committed to supporting our population screening programmes which are a valuable part of our health service, enabling early treatment and care for many people, and improving the overall health of our population.
It is important to be aware that any decisions about changes to our national screening programmes, such as screening for Haemochromatosis, will be made on the advice of our National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC). This independent expert group considers and assesses evidence in a robust and transparent manner, and against internationally accepted criteria. It is important we have rigorous processes in place to ensure our screening programmes are effective, quality assured and operating to safe standards, and that the benefits of screening outweigh the harms.
The Committee's Annual Call 2022 for proposals for new screening programmes or changes to our existing programmes, received a total of 19 submissions, which included a submission on Genetic Haemochromatosis.
Genetic Haemochromatosis, along with a number of other conditions, is currently under consideration by NSAC. The Committee has published its Work Programme on its website, setting out the status of proposals currently being considered.
As the first part of your question relates to implementation of the Models of Care for Hereditary Haemochromatosis and Therapeutic Phlebotomy for patients with Hereditary Haemochromatosis, I have referred this part of the question to the HSE for direct reply.
819. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health when a pension and lump sum will be paid in the case of a person (details supplied), who recently retired as a clinical nurse manager on 31 March 2023, who has yet to receive any confirmation of payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24768/23]
View answerAs this is an administrative matter for the Health Service Executive, the HSE has been asked to respond directly to the Deputy.
