Written Answers Nos. 836-853
836. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health if ophthalmic care can be established in Letterkenny University Hospital to cater for patients in North and West Donegal who currently have to travel by car to Sligo University hospital for treatment and routine appointments, which is up to two hours’ drive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24818/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
837. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health the current status with getting a GP to take over the practice in Lettermacaward Health Centre, County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24819/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
838. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health to provide in tabular form the full complement of therapists, public health nurses and so on that made up the complement of health staff in Curlew Road Health centre before 1 April 2023; how many health staff from all grades were transferred over to Armagh Road; how many health workers have been recruited since the beginning of the year; and how many of those have been allocated to Curlew Road and Armagh Road. [24828/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
839. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the counselling services available for individuals with inherited predispositions to cancer; the counselling services there are for individuals who test positive for cancer associated BRCA variants; the counselling services available for individuals who test negative for cancer associated BRCA variants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24842/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
840. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Health if a resident in a nursing home is entitled to receive a pressure reducing mattress via HSE funding rather than paying out of their own pocket; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24848/23]
View answerThe Health Service Executive (HSE) provides a wide range of medical aids and appliances under the Community Funded Schemes to eligible people free of charge following assessment by a relevant health professional.
Care for nursing home residents, including those in private facilities, can be covered under The Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS), commonly referred to as Fair Deal. The NHSS covers the cost of the standard components of long-term residential care which are:
- Nursing and personal care appropriate to the level of care needs of the person
- Bed and board
- Basic aids and appliances necessary to assist a person with the activities of daily living
- Laundry service
A person's eligibility for other schemes, such as a medical card under the General Medical Services Scheme or the Drug Payment Scheme, is unaffected by participation in the NHSS and for this reason, medications and aids that are already prescribed for individuals under an existing scheme are not included in the services covered by the NHSS.
Although the NHSS covers core living expenses, residents can still incur some costs in a nursing home, such as social programmes, newspapers or hairdressing.
Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 prohibits 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.
As the Deputy has raised a service matter, I have also asked the HSE to reply to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
841. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health the number of children admitted to adult mental health units to date in 2023. [24851/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
842. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health the number of public patients who have been removed from outpatient lists in 2023 as a result of a validation exercise, and not as a result of having an appointment with a consultant for each public and voluntary hospital, in tabular form. [24852/23]
View answerPeriodic validation forms an essential part of best practice in relation to the management of hospital waiting lists.
Validation is a process whereby hospital administration contacts patients on waiting lists at preplanned intervals to ensure that patients are ready, willing, suitable and available to attend a hospital appointment or if they wish to be removed.
For a number of years validation was conducted at individual hospital level in Ireland but in 2018, the Minister for Health approved the establishment of the validation function within the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF). The establishment of a centralised function has facilitated the introduction of a standardised approach to validation of waiting lists across all hospitals and across Inpatient Day Case and Outpatient waiting lists.
In relation to the data requested by the Deputy, the NTPF provided the attached document which outlines outpatient validation removal figures by hospital from 1st January 2023 to 28 April 2023.
The NTPF has advised that patients who fail to respond to Outpatient Commissioning Offer letters are now formally validated by the validation team and removals relating to this cohort of patients are included in the attached report.
A recent technical error with the scanning database resulted in the validation numbers being overstated; this issue is being rectified by the NTPF and the HSE and the issue will be resolved by the end of June.
|
Name of Hospital & Group: |
No. of patients removed due to validation exercise from 01/01/2023 - 30/04/2023 |
|
|
IEHG |
||
|
Mater Misericordiae Hospital |
2,423 |
|
|
St Vincent's Hospital |
810 |
|
|
Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar |
24 |
|
|
St Luke's General Hospital Kilkenny |
216 |
|
|
Wexford General Hospital |
267 |
|
|
Our Lady's Hospital Navan |
405 |
|
|
St Columcille's Hospital |
762 |
|
|
St Michael's Hospital |
0 |
|
|
National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh |
4 |
|
|
Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital |
954 |
|
|
Total: |
5,865 |
|
|
RCSI |
||
|
Beaumont Hospital |
0 |
Not currently participating in NTPF validation programme |
|
Connolly Hospital |
183 |
|
|
Our Lady's of Lourdes Drogheda |
1 |
Not currently participating in NTPF validation programme / only OPComVal |
|
Louth County Hospital |
32 |
Not currently participating in NTPF validation programme / only OPComVal |
|
Cavan & Monaghan Hospitals |
0 |
Not currently participating in NTPF validation programme / only OPComVal |
|
The Rotunda Maternity Hospital |
8 |
|
|
Total: |
224 |
|
|
DMHG |
||
|
St James Hospital |
1,526 |
|
|
Tallaght Hospital (AMNCH) |
4,583 |
|
|
Midland Regional Tullamore Hospital |
525 |
|
|
Naas General Hospital |
847 |
|
|
Midland Regional Portlaoise Hospital |
740 |
|
|
Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital |
25 |
Not currently participating in NTPF validation programme / only OPComVal |
|
Total: |
8,246 |
|
|
ULHG |
||
|
University Hospital Limerick |
3,138 |
|
|
Ennis Hospital |
148 |
|
|
Nenagh Hospital |
125 |
|
|
Croom Hospital |
367 |
|
|
St John's Hospital |
158 |
|
|
Total: |
3,936 |
|
|
SSWHG |
||
|
Cork University Hospital |
2,759 |
|
|
University Hospital Waterford |
157 |
|
|
University Hospital Kerry |
763 |
|
|
Mercy University Hospital |
592 |
|
|
Tipperary University Hospital |
358 |
|
|
South Infirmary Victoria Hospital |
768 |
|
|
Bantry General Hospital |
34 |
|
|
Mallow General Hospital |
71 |
|
|
Total: |
5,502 |
|
|
Saolta Hospital Group |
||
|
University Hospital Galway |
2,544 |
|
|
Sligo University Hospital |
1,489 |
|
|
Letterkenny University Hospital |
1,231 |
|
|
Mayo University Hospital |
1,117 |
|
|
Portiuncula Hospital |
330 |
|
|
Roscommon University Hospital |
677 |
|
|
Total: |
7,388 |
|
|
Children's Hospital Group |
||
|
Crumlin Children's Hospital |
1,768 |
|
|
Connolly Children's Hospital |
77 |
|
|
Temple Street Children's Hospital |
799 |
|
|
Tallaght Children's Hospital |
570 |
|
|
Total: |
3,214 |
|
|
Grand Total: |
34,375 |
|
843. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health the number of medical cards as of 1 May 2023; the number of general practitioner cards on the same date; and the number for each type of card issued on a discretionary basis on that date. [24853/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
844. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health the number of delayed discharges for each public/voluntary hospital at the end of April 2023, in tabular form. [24854/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
845. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health the number of bed days lost in each owing to delayed discharges for each public/voluntary hospital to date in 2023, in tabular form. [24855/23]
View answer846. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health the number of patients aged 75 years or over who experienced an emergency department wait time of more than 24 hours between the beginning of January and end of April 2023; and the hospitals where the wait occurred. [24856/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
847. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health the number of ambulance attendances at each emergency department nationwide in April 2023, in tabular form; the number of such ambulances that waited longer than 20 minutes to hand over patients, get their trolleys back and return to responding to calls; the number that waited longer than 40 minutes for same; the number that waited longer than 60 minutes for same; the number that waited longer than 90 minutes for same; the number that waited more than 120 minutes for same; and the number that waited more than 180 minutes for same. [24857/23]
View answerAs these are service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
848. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health if he will agree to meet urgently with representatives of an organisation (details supplied) in an effort to agree to funding for a new rate on the Homecare Tender 2023 that reflects increased costs of care and that allows them to offer homecare staff a living wage, travel time and mileage costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24858/23]
View answerThe existing tender for home support services was extended by the HSE at the end of 2022, initially to the end of April 2023. The HSE has proposed a further extension of the contract arrangements to Friday 30th of June, to allow time to finalise tender arrangements. This is a priority area and the process of developing the new tender is at an advanced stage. Officials in the Department of Health are engaging at a senior level with the HSE and the HSE has ongoing engagements with home care providers to progress the new tender.
A strict communication protocol applies in all phases of the procurement process, therefore a meeting with a particular organisation on Tender 2023 cannot be facilitated at this time.
849. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Health the number of people waiting as of 1 May 2023 or the nearest available date for an MRI scan in the Ireland East Hospital Group for various waiting periods, in tabular form (details supplied). [24860/23]
View answer850. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Health the number of people waiting as of 1 May 2023 or the nearest available date for a CT scan in the Ireland East Hospital Group for various waiting periods, in tabular form (details supplied). [24861/23]
View answer851. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Health the number of people waiting as of 1 May 2023 or the nearest available date for a bone scan in the Ireland East Hospital Group for various waiting periods, in tabular form (details supplied). [24862/23]
View answer852. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Health the number of people waiting as of 1 May 2023 or the nearest available date for an angiogram in the Ireland East Hospital Group for various waiting periods, in tabular form (details supplied). [24863/23]
View answer853. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Health the number of people waiting as of 1 May 2023 or the nearest available date for an electroencephalogram in the Ireland East Hospital Group for various waiting periods, in tabular form (details supplied). [24864/23]
View answer854. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Health the number of people waiting as of 1 May 2023 or the nearest available date for cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in the Ireland East Hospital Group for various waiting periods, in tabular form (details supplied). [24865/23]
View answer855. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Health the number of people waiting as of 1 May 2023 or the nearest available date for an ultrasound scan in the Ireland East Hospital Group for various waiting periods, in tabular form (details supplied). [24866/23]
View answer856. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Health the number of people waiting as of 1 May 2023 or the nearest available date for an electrocardiogram (ECG) in the Ireland East Hospital Group for various waiting periods, in tabular form (details supplied). [24867/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 849 to 856, inclusive, together.
The HSE advises that a pilot project commenced in 2016 by the HSE Acute Hospitals Division to progress the collection of national radiology waiting list data. The project has been supported by the Radiology Clinical Care Programme and has involved key stakeholders across the system including the National Integrated Medical Imaging System (NIMIS) Team, Hospital Groups, and the support of the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) for data collection and data management expertise.
The information that is currently being collected is presently being tested and validated at hospital, hospital group and national level and as such should not be used/reported without the context of the caveats set out below:
- Data is subject to inclusions and exclusions which are documented in the Data Profile Document. This document is available from Acute Operations and has been circulated to all Hospital Groups.
- Data contains urgent, routine and surveillance/planned activity which is currently not broken down in detail, as such this includes surveillance/planned activity which may not be exceeding planned date.
- Data is still undergoing validation at Hospital and Hospital Group level. Data does not take into account local nuances at site level (Site profile developed to support understanding of same).
- The purpose of this aggregate data is to provide a National Level overview of the number of patients waiting for modalities of CT, MRI and Ultrasound.
- This report is not intended to be used for the active management of hospital diagnostics waiting list, local reports and mechanisms should continue to be used for the management of diagnostics waiting lists at hospital level.
In relation to the diagnostic waiting list information requested by the Deputy, the National Treatment Purchase Fund has provided the attached document which sets out waiting list data for Quarter 1 2023 for CT, MRI and Ultrasound. The HSE advises that, at present, further diagnostic scans (including electrocardiogram, cholangiopancreatography, electroencephalogram, angiogram, and bone scan), are not yet captured as part of this project.
In Q1 2023, there were a total of 250,021 patients reported on the waiting list from all sites, this represents all outpatients waiting, urgent, semi urgent, routine and planned/surveillance (where diagnostic access is planned at particular time intervals).
The Deputy may wish to note that the information currently captured as part of the project is available in the single report attached. To ensure Deputies have access to these quarterly diagnostic reports as soon as they are available, my Department is willing to put an arrangement in place whereby the reports would be provided to Deputies under separate cover once they have been received from the NTPF.
