Tuesday, 4 Jul 2023

Written Answers Nos. 611-627

Hospital Procedures

Questions (611)

Paul Donnelly

Question:

611. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of shoulder surgeries carried out at Cappagh Orthopaedic Hospital in the years of 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [32351/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

This PQ relates to operational matters and has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

Hospital Staff

Questions (612)

Paul Donnelly

Question:

612. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant endocrinologists based in each hospital part of the RCSI Group in 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [32352/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.

Primary Care Centres

Questions (613)

Paul Donnelly

Question:

613. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the services provided at each primary care centre within CHO7 and CHO9, in tabular form. [32353/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Disability Diagnoses

Questions (614)

Niamh Smyth

Question:

614. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) cannot get a letter from a consultant to apply for assistance technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32369/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.

Abortion Services

Questions (615)

Seán Canney

Question:

615. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health to explain the discrepancy between the 8,876 combined termination procedure and aftercare claims under the primary care reimbursement scheme in 2022, whilst just 8,156 notifications of termination were officially received in 2022. [32372/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

Under section 20 (1) of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, a notification of each termination of pregnancy carried out under the legislation must be notified to the Minister for Health within 28 days of it being carried out. Section 20, subsections (3) and (4), require the Minister to prepare a report on the notifications received in a given year not later than 30 June the following year and thereafter to lay it before the Houses of the Oireachtas and arrange for its publication.

Termination of Pregnancy (TOP) services are provided free of charge in line with the 2018 Act. GP provision of TOP services is predominantly via the GP contract where GPs are reimbursed via the Primary Care Reimbursement Scheme (PCRS) for the consultations undertaken with patients in respect of terminations (there are two consultations required to carry out a termination in early pregnancy). The Department has engaged with the PCRS in the HSE to cross-check the total number of TOP claims made against the number of statutory notifications received. Figures received from the HSE indicated that approximately 8,844 second consultation claims were made in 2022. Section 20 of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 provides a narrow statutory framework for the notification to the Minister of terminations of pregnancy and provides for a limited data collection, ensuring protection of the personal information and identity of people accessing termination of pregnancy services – as such cross analysis of different data sets is challenging.

The Department will continue to engage with the HSE, with a view to reminding all service providers of their obligations under section 20 of the 2018 Act.

Departmental Meetings

Questions (616)

Seán Canney

Question:

616. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health to detail the number of meetings, in tabular form, held with the Attorney General on the issue of safe access zones legislation since January 2022 to date in 2023. [32373/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

I can confirm that there was extensive engagement between officials from the Department of Health and officials from the Office of the Attorney General in relation to this matter but the detail and content are matters in respect of which legal privilege applies and therefore would be inappropriate to give further detail.

Question No. 617 answered with Question No. 552.

Covid-19 Pandemic

Questions (618)

Seán Canney

Question:

618. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health his plans in relation to nurses who contracted Covid during the course of their duties, who are now suffering from long-Covid and who need an extension of special leave with pay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32380/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As noted by the Deputy, the current Temporary Scheme of Paid Leave for Employees Unfit for Work Post Covid Infection is due to conclude at the end of this month. Officials from my Department requested approval from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform in April 2023 for a 12-month extension of the current Scheme. This was to allow time for a more informed clinical understanding of the longer-term impact for those effected to be formed, and also to allow the Department of Social Protection (DSP) time to consider the EU Committee recommendation regarding the recognition of COVID-19 as an occupational illness.

Last week, the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform sanctioned an extension to the temporary Scheme from 1 July 2023 until 31 October 2023. The Department of Public Expenditure sanctioned this four-month extension on a once-off basis and has said it applies only to those employees who are currently availing of the scheme, and excludes any new applications.

A circular setting out the details of the extension will issue to all health service employers and impacted staff from the HSE shortly.

Question No. 619 answered with Question No. 552.

Question No. 620 answered with Question No. 552.

Departmental Expenditure

Questions (621)

Carol Nolan

Question:

621. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health the total amount of money spent on abortion services in 2022 (including abortions carried out in hospitals, community settings or via telemedicine, and including the cost of the operation and promotion of the MyOptions government helpline) broken down by category in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32386/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As the Deputy’s question relates to a service area, I have referred this question to the HSE for direct response.

Abortion Services

Questions (622)

Carol Nolan

Question:

622. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health to provide a list of the number of adverse incidents, in tabular form by severity scale and broken down by month, reported to the State Claims Agency which related to the Health Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Act 2018 from January to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32387/23]

Awaiting reply from Department.

Question No. 623 answered with Question No. 588.

Nursing Homes

Questions (624)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

624. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health what measures are being implemented to rectify the situation where nursing homes prior to the fair deal scheme were mischarging residents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32390/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

The Health Repayment Scheme was a statutory scheme established under the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006 to repay specified pre-2005 charges for in-patient services imposed on certain persons with full medical card eligibility in public long stay facilities, including public nursing homes. As the Scheme closed to new applications on 31 December 2007 in accordance with the provisions of the Act, no new applications can be made under the Scheme.

To date, the HSE has processed almost 35,500 claims under the Scheme and has issued repayments of approximately €453 million to over 20,300 claimants.

Upon the raising of issues earlier this year about how the State has approached legal challenges taken against it in relation to pre-2005 legacy nursing home charges, the Government moved quickly to establish the facts surrounding these issues, which go back many decades, by requesting the Attorney General to prepare a Report on the litigation management strategy. This comprehensive Report was published on 7 February 2023 and may be accessed at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/22adc-attorney-generals-report-on-nursing-home-charges-and-disabled-persons-maintenance-allowance/.

As committed in February, the Minister is considering the Attorney General’s report and briefing prepared by the Department further and hopes to revert to Government shortly.

Medical Cards

Questions (625)

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

625. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health if any consideration has been given to increasing medical card income thresholds for under- and over-70s ahead of the upcoming budget, with consideration to the excessive increase in cost-of-living and the Eurostat report which designates Ireland as having the highest goods and services costs in the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32419/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

Eligibility for a Medical Card is primarily based on a financial assessment which is conducted by the HSE in accordance with the Health Act 1970 (as amended). The HSE assesses each medical card application on a qualifying financial threshold. This is the amount of money that an individual can earn a week and still qualify for a card. It is specific to the individual’s own financial circumstances.Persons aged 69 and under are assessed under the general means tested medical card thresholds which are based on an applicant’s household income after tax and the deduction of PRSI and the Universal Social Charge. Certain expenses are also taken into account. Examples of allowable expenses include rent, mortgage, certain insurance costs, childcare, maintenance, nursing home net costs which help to increase the amount a person can earn and still qualify for a medical card. Detailed guidelines are available at: Assessment for a medical card - HSE.ie. Persons aged 70 or older are assessed under the over 70s medical card income thresholds which are based on gross income. It should be noted that in November 2020, the weekly gross medical card income thresholds for those aged 70 and over were increased to €550 per week for a single person and €1,050 for a couple. This increase ensures that a greater proportion of those aged 70 and over now qualify for a medical card. However, it should be noted that those aged over 70 can also be assessed under the general means tested scheme where there are particularly high costs, e.g., medication, nursing home fees. Furthermore, the Deputy may be aware that, since 2015, every individual aged 70 and over has automatic eligibility for a GP visit card. I wish to assure the Deputy that, to ensure the medical card system is responsive and sensitive to people's needs, my Department keeps medical card issues, including the current medical card income thresholds under review and any changes are considered in the context of Government policy, the annual budgetary estimates process and other issues which may be relevant.

Health Services Staff

Questions (626)

Seán Canney

Question:

626. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health the steps he intends to take to remove the pay difference between Section 38 and 39 health care workers which is causing major problems for the retention of staff and has resulted in the closing of respite services (details supplied) in Galway and Tuam; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32423/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

It is important that I acknowledge the important role that Section 39 organisations and their staff play in our health sector. They have a key role in providing services to people with disabilities and older people.

A process of engagement to examine the pay of workers in Community and Voluntary organisations was committed to by the Government in October 2022. While the Government has committed to a process, it is worth noting that Section 39 organisations are privately owned and run, and the terms and conditions of employment of staff in these organisations are ultimately between the employer and the employee.

On 17 April, officials from the Department of Health, the HSE, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and Tusla met with union representatives under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission. This engagement sought to understand and explore the scope of the unions' claim for pay rises for Community and Voluntary sector workers. Follow up engagements took place at the Workplace Relations Commission on 15 May 2023 & on the 28 of June 2023. Further engagement is due to take place at the WRC in the coming weeks. As this is an ongoing Industrial Relations process, it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this point.

Dental Services

Questions (627)

Joan Collins

Question:

627. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to restore walk-in dentistry services within primary care settings in CHO7. [32426/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.