Written Answers Nos. 734-753
735. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health what services are available under the dental treatment services scheme in Ballinasloe; the action that is being taken to ensure that medical card holders can access dental services in Ballinasloe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31223/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
736. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health if he will detail the health infrastructure projects currently underway in CHO9; the projects completed since June 2020, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31227/23]
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.
737. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Health if the part-time psychiatric nurse service, provided to clients in County Sligo, will be re-instated (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31256/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
738. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if hospital management at UHK has considered the provision of modular housing on peripheral greenfield areas on the hospital campus to incentivise medical staff to fill vacancies in the hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31259/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
739. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health how many permanent and interim general managers have been in place at UHK since 2008; if he sees the high rate of turnover in this position as a contributing factor in the hospitals problems; the average duration of tenure; how best the matter could be addressed at this and similar facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31260/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
740. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if hospital management at UHK has commenced exit interviews of medical staff resigning from positions at UHK; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31261/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
741. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health the number of nurses who have resigned from positions at UHK in 2022 and to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31262/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
742. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health the number of doctors who have resigned from positions at UHK in 2022 and to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31263/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
743. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health the number of internal and external applicants for the most recent competition for the position of general manager at UHK; how the process was carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31264/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
744. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health the total number of beds in use at UHK; how this compares to each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31265/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
745. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health the progress or otherwise that has been made on orthopaedic waiting lists at UHK since June 2022; if a breakdown of numbers will be provided, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31266/23]
View answerIt 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 information requested by the Deputy concerning orthopaedic waiting lists at University Hospital Kerry is outlined in the attached document. The most recent published data shows waiting lists at the end of May 2023, and the tables in the attached document show the comparison with figures for May 2022. The total outpatient orthopaedic waiting list has decreased by 36% year on year, with reductions of 93% and 98% in the 12-18 month and over 18-month cohorts respectively. The total inpatient/daydase orthopaedic waiting list has decreased by 60% in the same period, with only 2 patients currently waiting more than 6 months.
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- |
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|
University Hospital Kerry Orthopaedic IPDC Waiting List YoY comparison |
|||||
|
0-6 Mths |
6-12 Mths |
12-18 Mths |
18+ Mths |
Grand Total |
|
|
May-22 |
65 |
55 |
38 |
18 |
176 |
|
May-23 |
69 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
71 |
|
Difference |
4 |
-53 |
-38 |
-18 |
-105 |
|
% Difference |
6% |
-96% |
-100% |
-100% |
-60% |
|
- |
University Hospital Kerry Orthopaedic OPD Waiting List YoY comparison |
||||
|
0-6 Mths |
6-12 Mths |
12-18 Mths |
18+ Mths |
Grand Total |
|
|
May-22 |
815 |
615 |
405 |
189 |
2,024 |
|
May-23 |
883 |
379 |
28 |
4 |
1,294 |
|
Difference |
68 |
-236 |
-377 |
-185 |
-730 |
|
% Difference |
8% |
-38% |
-93% |
-98% |
-36% |
746. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health the progress that has been made to address issues of concern at UHK since the engagement of the HSE National Director of Acute Operations in November 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31267/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
747. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health how many of the 11 patients with serious illnesses that a consultant radiologist at UHK failed to pick up have subsequently passed away; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31268/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
748. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost to increase fees paid to pharmacists for dispensing medicines to a flat fee of €5, €5.50, €6 and €6.50 per item, in tabular form. [31273/23]
View answerThe regulations governing the pharmacy fee structure are set out in the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (No. 34 of 2017) and in S.I. No. 639 of 2019, the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (Payments to Community Pharmacy Contractors) Regulations 2019, which put the current fee structure in place, with effect from 1 January 2020.
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.
The full year cost of introducing a flat fee per item dispensed is determined by the number of persons with eligibility under the state schemes and the number of items dispensed under those schemes. These continue to rise year on year.
The estimated cost for introducing a flat fee of €5, €5.50, €6 and €6.50 is displayed in the table below, assuming a specified percentage increase in the number of items dispensed in 2022 (i.e., 92,444,555).
|
Proposed fee |
Additional cost (If 1% increase in items dispensed) |
Additional cost (If 5% increase in items dispensed) |
|
€5 |
N/A |
€17m |
|
€5.50 |
€45.2m |
€65.6m |
|
€6 |
€91.9m |
€114.1m |
|
€6.50 |
€138.6m |
€162.6m |
749. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the estimated first year and full cost of implementing a minor ailments and illness scheme in community pharmacy. [31274/23]
View answerI recognise the significant role community pharmacists play in the delivery of patient care and acknowledge the potential for this role to be developed further in the context of healthcare service reform.
In that regard, various approaches to extending the scope of practice of community pharmacists are being progressed by my Department. This includes the introduction of a Minor Ailment Scheme (MAS). The MAS would enable medical card holders to attend their local pharmacist for assessment and treatment for a number of specified ailments rather than initially having to attend the GP to obtain a prescription. The main purpose of this is to remove an access barrier to to increase capacity in our healthcare service.
The full-year cost of implementing the MAS will be comparable to the current spend for those conditions under the General Medical Services (GMS) scheme, although it is likely that the spend will include a combination of both transferred activity and new activity. The spend under GMS in 2022 for the conditions being considered for inclusion in the MAS was approximately €15.1m.
750. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if a response will issue to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); if he has engaged with the Minister for Social Protection regarding this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31276/23]
View answerThe Minister has asked me to respond your query in relation to the Supplementary Pension and Class A employees.
Supplementary pension is a payment which may be made by a public service employer, in certain circumstances, to a retiree who paid Class A PRSI when employed and whose occupational pension is coordinated with the State Pension Contributory (SPC).
Supplementary pension is provided for in civil and public service pension schemes. It is one aspect of integrated pensions which arises when a bridging payment is required to provide an individual’s overall public service pension entitlement because the individual might experience a shortfall in benefit. However, these payments are not automatic and are subject to rules, the most relevant of which is that the individual is unemployed.
This is a condition for receipt of supplementary pension because, as a former Class A contributor, the individual may be entitled to certain benefits payable by the Department of Social Protection.
It is appreciated that there are concerns surrounding staffing issues in nursing areas and the issue of the cessation of supplementary pension has been raised.
The Minister wishes to assure the Deputy that the Department of Health is currently making enquiries on this matter.
751. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of mental health services provided by each voluntary NGO provider; the costs of this provision for the years 2021 and 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31285/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
752. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of mental health services provided by each private for-profit provider; the costs of this provision for the years 2021 and 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31286/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
753. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of mental health services provided directly by the State; the costs of this provision for the years 2021 and 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31287/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
