Written Answers Nos. 271-282
271. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Health if additional funding could be made available to an organisation (details supplied) so that people over 65 years can receive services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28943/23]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
272. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health if he will seek the details on the total number of registered nursing homes in Ireland in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023; and the details of the total number of residents registered over the same years. [28944/23]
View answerThe Health Information and Quality Authority's older people's services inspection team is legally responsible for the monitoring, inspection and registration of designated centres for older people, such as nursing homes, in Ireland. Details in relation to the number of nursing homes registered between 2019 and 8 June 2023 are set out in the table below.
|
Year |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
08/06/2023 |
|
Number of nursing homes |
585 |
573 |
567 |
557 |
553 |
HIQA does not collate details on the number of residents, however the number of registered beds, which is the number of residents if all beds were occupied is set out below for the same period.
|
Year |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
08/06/2023 |
|
Number of registered beds |
31,986 |
32,901 |
31,842 |
31,674 |
31,888 |
273. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Health when former staff who worked in care homes during the pandemic will get the pandemic bonus payment (details supplied); the reason this matter has not yet been resolved over three years since the height of the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28945/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
274. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health if a study of a parcel of land to the rear of St. Patrick’s Hospital, Cashel, to determine suitability for a community nursing unit has been completed; if not, if a study is due to be carried out; and the details of same. [28948/23]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
275. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health if the study of a site on Palmers Hill in Cashel, County Tipperary to determine suitability for a community nursing unit has been completed; if not, if it is due to be carried out; and the details of same. [28949/23]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
276. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health the number of sites that are being considered for the development of a community nursing unit in Cashel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28950/23]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
277. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health if any progress has been made with respect to recruitment of occupational therapists in County Louth which has reached critical levels; if neighbouring areas with suitable levels of occupational therapists could transfer or redirect services; if persons will be offered appointments in neighbouring areas, in order to deal with the absolutely unacceptable void in services in the Louth area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28951/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
278. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update with respect to the projected opening date for the new 50-bed St. Joseph’s Hospital development in Ardee, County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28952/23]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
279. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will be called for scheduled surgery. [28958/23]
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.
280. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if an individual with a medical card who had a procedure performed on private healthcare can have a part reimbursement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28960/23]
View answerThe 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, public in-patient hospital services, including consultants’ services, 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 in-patient and outpatient public hospital services including Consultant services, Emergency Department or minor injury care, subject to certain charges. Other services such as allied healthcare professional services may also be made available to persons with limited eligibility.
Where a person opts for private healthcare in Ireland there is no facility for the cost of that care to be reimbursed by the public health system.
281. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the total number of inpatient beds for CAMHS; the number of inpatient beds that are operational; the plans to reopen beds; the plans to expand inpatient bed capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28968/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
282. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if he intends to review the fees that pharmacies receive from the State for all State drug schemes before the end of June 2023; if he will engage with representatives of an organisation (details supplied) on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28977/23]
View answer288. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health for an update on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28986/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 282 and 288 together.
Under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) legislation, payments to pharmacy contractors were restructured in 2009, 2011 and 2013, under:
• S.I. No. 246/2009 - Health Professionals (Reduction of Payments to Community Pharmacy Contractors) Regulations 2009.
• S.I. No. 300/2011 - Health Professionals (Reduction of Payments to Community Pharmacy Contractors) Regulations 2011.
• S.I. No. 279/2013 - Health Professionals (Reduction of Payments to Community Pharmacy Contractors) Regulations 2013.
Among other things, dispensing fees moved from a mixture of professional fees and retail mark-ups to an increased standard fee which was reduced on a sliding scale based on the number of items dispensed in a month, as follows:
• €5.00 for the first 1,667 items each month,
• €4.50 for the next 833 items, and,
• €3.50 for any remaining items.
The regulations governing the pharmacy fee structure that were made under section 9 of the FEMPI Act 2009 expired at the end of 2019. Under the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017, these regulations had to be replaced by 1 January 2020 in order to maintain a statutory basis for contractor payments and to prescribe the fees payable from that date.
The current pharmacy fee structure was put in place by the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (Payments to Community Pharmacy Contractors) Regulations 2019 – S.I. 639 of 2019 – which came into effect from 1 January 2020.
Since then, the overall spend on fees paid to community pharmacists under the community drug schemes has continued to rise year-on-year. The Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) online system shows fees paid to pharmacies under the community drug schemes in 2019 of €420.9 million, rising to €468 million in 2022. The State has also paid for additional services provided by community pharmacists. For example, in 2022:
• €22.51 million in respect of COVID-19 vaccination fees were paid to pharmacists. Broken down this was €16.47 million in respect of vaccination fees, plus €6.04 million in administration fees.
• €7.55 million was paid to community pharmacists for administering flu vaccinations.
• €4.32 million was paid to community pharmacists for participating in the contraception scheme which launched in September 2022.
The State paid just over €502m in fees to community pharmacists in 2022. This demonstrates the substantial investment made by the Government to keep pace with the increased activity across the community drug schemes and to ensure that community pharmacies are remunerated for the services they provide on behalf of the State.
Under Section 42(14) of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 the pharmacy fee structure must be reviewed every third year after 2020. My Department is currently carrying out a review and Department officials will communicate with the Irish Pharmacy Union in that regard very shortly.
Of course, any publicly funded pharmacy service expansion should address unmet public healthcare needs, improve access to existing public health services, and provide better value for money.
