Monday, 11 Sep 2023

Hospital Appointments Status

Questions (1918)

Niamh Smyth

Question:

1918. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) is waiting on a procedure at Cavan General Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39203/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Health

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.

Legislative Measures

Questions (1919)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

1919. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health the timeline for the commencement of all sections of the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39210/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Health

The Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 which was signed by the President on 2nd May 2023, is a landmark piece of patient safety legislation. A key intention of the Patient Safety Act is to ensure that patients and their families have access to comprehensive and timely information. This is achieved by the open disclosure mechanism in the Act which contributes to embedding a culture whereby clinicians, and the health service as a whole, engage openly, transparently and compassionately with patients and their families when things go wrong.

Prior to commencement of the Act, there are a number of preparatory steps required. These are currently being progressed and significant multi-stakeholder engagement is now taking place across the health system.

The Act establishes a mandatory requirement for the notification of certain serious patient safety incidents. To facilitate this notification process, a new module to the existing National Incident Management System (NIMS) must be designed, tested and implemented before this provision can be commenced. Work with key stakeholders, including the HSE, State Claims Agency, HIQA and the Mental Health Commission, is currently taking place.

The HSE advise that work is underway to finalise and fully roll out their new open disclosure training policy and communications plan to all staff regarding the new disclosure and notification requirements under the Act before its implementation can be rolled out.

The Patient Safety Act also mandates open disclosure of patient requested review of cancer screening and the implementation of a communications programme regarding such reviews. The HSE and the Screening Services and currently finalising these processes.

The intention is to commence the Act at the earliest possible date.

Mental Health Services

Questions (1920)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

1920. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health further to the Sharing the Vision implementation plan 2022-2024, the status of the gap analysis of advocacy support needs; the status of the development of the implementation plan for advocacy services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39211/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As this a service matter I am referring this to the HSE for a direct reply

Healthcare Infrastructure Provision

Questions (1921)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

1921. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 36 of 1 June 2023 and 1374 of 25 July 2023, for an update on the development of the new elective hospital in Merlin Park; the status of the development of the project brief, procurement strategy and detailed business case; if the HSE is on track to complete these documents by October 2023; if discussions with local planning authorities have commenced to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39212/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Health

I have asked the HSE, as Sponsoring Agency with day-to-day responsibility for the delivery of the new Elective Hospital in Galway, to respond to you directly in relation to the matters raised.

Primary Care Centres

Questions (1922)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

1922. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 1570 of 18 April 2023 and 1376 of 25 July 2023, the status of the proposed primary care centre for Galway City west; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39213/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Health

As 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.

Hospital Facilities

Questions (1923)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

1923. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the reason for the closure of the 16-bed sub-acute unit at St. James’s Hospital psychiatric unit in August; if this decision was taken as a result of difficulties recruiting and retaining psychiatric nursing staff; the steps he is taking to address this shortfall in beds and ensure an adequate provision of services in CHO 7; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39233/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

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

Care Services

Questions (1924)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

1924. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the implementation of all 16 recommendations from the report of the strategic workforce advisory group on home carers and nursing home healthcare assistants; the timeline that he is working towards for implementation of each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39234/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Health

Addressing the shortage of care workers in Ireland is an urgent priority for the Government. To this end, the cross departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group was established in March 2022 to examine, and formulate recommendations to address, the challenges in frontline carer roles in the home support and long term residential care sectors.

The Group was chaired by the Department of Health and comprised representatives from seven government departments (Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Health; Higher and Further Education, Research, Innovation and Science; Justice; Public Expenditure and Reform; and Social Protection), the HSE, HIQA and SOLAS.

The Report was published on 15th October 2022. Providing an overview of the work of the Group and its key findings, the report presents a suite of 16 recommendations spanning the areas of areas of recruitment, pay and conditions of employment, barriers to employment, training and professional development and sectoral reform.

Implementation of the 16 recommendations is being overseen by a cross departmental Implementation Group, chaired by the Department of Health. A detailed implementation plan will be published shortly. The implementation group meets quarterly and publish progress reports thereafter. The first meeting of the group took place on 29th June and the next meeting is scheduled for 12th October.

Recommendation 9 has already been implemented - the Statutory instrument authorising the issuance of 1,000 employment permits for homecare workers was signed on 16th December 2022. Recommendations 3, 5, 6 and 16 are at an advanced stage and work is underway on all other recommendations.

Home Care Packages

Questions (1925)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

1925. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on a waiting list for home care packages, by CHO and LHO, in tabular form; and the number of persons experiencing delayed discharge from hospital due to a delay in accessing homecare. [39236/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Site Acquisitions

Questions (1926)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

1926. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the status of the site identification process for the elective hospital in Dublin; the timeline he is working towards for completing this process and seeking Cabinet approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39237/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Health

A site identification and assessment process for the delivery of additional elective capacity in Dublin under the National Elective Ambulatory Strategy is at an advanced stage, including engagement with necessary stakeholders, and is expected to be concluded in the coming weeks. Once concluded, a Memorandum on preferred site options will be brought to Government for consideration. I would expect that this Memorandum will be brought to Government soon.

Eating Disorders

The Digital Health & Social Care Strategic Framework will align with Government’s “Harnessing Digital” and set the roadmap for digital health in Ireland for the next decade.

The HSE are developing the corresponding Implementation Plan that will detail out the specifics and sequencing of the roadmap and confirm the necessary support required to realise this intent. The plan is being developed concurrently with the framework so will be published very soon after the framework.

Many of the key themes identified in the current eHealth strategy are still relevant today and the new framework will reflect that reality. There will be some changes however. For instance, the rapid adoption of smartphones, apps and wider access to faster and more reliable broadband presents new opportunities that were not available in 2013 when the original eHealth strategy was published. It is important that future investments capitalise on the opportunities offered by these developments.

A key goal of the framework, is to put a greater focus on enabling patients by providing them with access to their own health information, and to leverage digital solutions to greater effect in order to modernise the health service, for both patients and staff.

Through our ongoing engagements with digital health leaders in other jurisdictions, there is also a real opportunity to leverage lessons learned internationally. The framework is also informed by our own experience since 2013, in deploying technical solutions including enterprise level EHR deployments in St James hospital, maternity and paediatric settings, other clinical and operations systems, and how best to respond with agility and innovation, as witnessed during the pandemic.

Hospital Charges

Questions (1935)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

1935. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if he will honour the programme for Government commitment to introduce a cap on car parking charges at all public hospitals and introduce flexible passes; the timeline he is working towards; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39246/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Health

I am aware that hospitals that charge parking fees are very cognisant of the financial implications of parking costs for patients and their families, particularly for those with long-term illnesses.

Consequently, many hospitals have introduced a maximum daily fixed parking charge and reduced rate parking for long-term patients and visitors for whom the payment of the full rate would cause hardship.

The Programme for Government - Our Shared Future, makes a commitment to introduce a maximum daily car parking charge for patients and visitors at all public hospitals, where possible, and to introduce flexible passes in all public hospitals for patients and their families. This is a reflection of the Government’s appreciation of the financial challenge that can be faced by people in meeting these expenses, in particular where they are frequent users of hospital services. Accordingly, my Department and the HSE are currently examining the issue.

Health Strategies

Questions (1936)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

1936. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if he intends to provide €20 million in annual development funding for the National Cancer Strategy to ensure that it is implemented by its expiration in 2026; the steps he is taking to ensure its full implementation by 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39247/23]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Health

Successive National Cancer Strategies have delivered continuing improvements in outcomes for Irish cancer patients in terms of earlier diagnosis, better treatment, and improved rates of survival. This Government’s commitment to implementation of the National Cancer Strategy is evidenced by significant investment in recent years. €20m new development funding was allocated to cancer services and €15m was allocated for new cancer drugs in both 2021 and 2022. This increased total funding for cancer services to €139m in 2022.

We have seen significant progress on the implementation of the Strategy over the past six years, with clear evidence-based policy direction from my Department and strong implementation by the HSE's National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP). It is important that we continue to invest in cancer services, as the incidence of cancer is projected to grow due to demographic change and improved detection of cancer.

The yearly National Cancer Strategy Implementation Report and Key Performance Indicators for 2022 was published on 6 June 2023. The Report sets out the progress achieved on the improvement of cancer services and the delivery of better outcomes for patients, as set out in the 52 recommendations of the Strategy. The Report measures the achievement of these recommendations against the key performance indicators, which focus on reducing preventable cancer, promoting early detection, and driving improvements in treatment and after-care for cancer patients.

Progress on implementation of the National Cancer Strategy has continued and in 2022 the government allocated €35 million extra funding, which included €20 million for new development funding, and €15 million for new cancer drugs. This significant investment has had a real impact on access to cancer diagnostics, treatment and supports.

In 2022, 172 new staff were recruited to cancer services from this new development funding, which represent a 20% increase in total staffing for cancer. Cancer surgeries returned to above 2019 thresholds with more than 16,200 surgeries performed, more patients were seen at Rapid Access Clinics with attendances at 104% of 2019 levels, and over 126,000 chemotherapy treatments were administered, more than ever before.

Key achievements for 2022 include:

• An additional 172 posts were created in cancer services, with recruitment ongoing for a further 198 posts.

• Funding of €3.4 million supported increased patient attendances at Rapid Access Clinics (RACs) and improved performance against national Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This indicates strong recovery from the impact of COVID-19, with new RAC attendances in 2022 at 104% of 2019 levels.

• An additional €3 million was allocated to support cancer surgeries from new development funding, ensuring a return to 2019 levels following disruption to these services in 2020 and 2021. Numbers of cancer surgeries surpassed 2019 levels with 16,226 cancer surgeries carried out in 2022 compared to 16,085 in 2019.

• €2.07 million was provided for enhancing radiotherapy services, including 25 additional staff and the continued rollout of new and innovative forms of radiotherapy.

• Construction of a new €56 million radiation oncology facility at UHG was completed in 2022, with first patients seen in Q2 2023.

Since 2020 there have been new cancer treatments and models of care launched in Ireland thanks to the continued implementation of the National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026:

• The NCCP Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) Model of Care builds on the previous work of the NCCP Systemic Therapy Programme. Twenty-five key recommendations were set out in the NCCP SACT Model of Care to optimise SACT services to ensure the provision of a safe and quality driven service for all service users.

• The NCCP Psycho-Oncology Programme includes two models of care. The Psycho-Oncology Model of Care which aims to provide a blueprint for cancer patients and their families about the psychological impact of cancer and to identify professional support for coping with cancer as well as the pathways to access this support both in cancer treatment centres as well as the community at any point in the cancer experience. The CAYA Psycho-Oncology Model of Care which focuses on supporting patients that are children or young adults, as well as their families with the psychological impact of a cancer diagnosis.

• Ireland's first adult CAR T-cell Centre was opened in St James's Hospital, Dublin, in 2021 allowing patients to receive this ground-breaking immunotherapy treatment in Ireland for the first time. The treatment was also made available to children in Ireland via Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) in 2022.

Funding for current expenditure, including cancer services, is allocated on an annual (single-year) basis through the Estimates process with future levels of funding considered as part of the national estimates and budgetary process. Decisions on the funding of cancer services are being made in the context of the Estimates process for 2024.

Question No. 1937 answered with Question No. 1637.