Catherine Murphy
Question:1641. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health the number of neck fusion surgeries performed at Beaumont Hospital in 2023, in tabular form. [1081/24]
View answerHospital Procedures
Questions (1641)
Written answers
As this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently not in a position to answer PQs due to industrial action. It is hoped that normal services will resume soon. In the meantime, this Department will continue to refer PQs to HSE for their direct reply as soon as possible.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Questions (1642)
Catherine Murphy
Question:1642. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health the average waiting time to see a consultant paediatric neurosurgeon at CHI Temple Street. [1082/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is an operational matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday 6th October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.
Hospital Facilities
Questions (1643)
Catherine Murphy
Question:1643. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health if the new Children's Hospital will have the capabilities and necessary staffing to perform heart transplants and pancreas transplants. [1083/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is an operational matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday 6th October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.
Hospital Staff
Questions (1644)
Catherine Murphy
Question:1644. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health if consultant cardiologists or cardiologist registrars are on call in Beaumont Hospital on a 24/7 basis. [1084/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently not in a position to answer PQs due to industrial action. It is hoped that normal services will resume soon. In the meantime, this Department will continue to refer PQs to HSE for their direct reply as soon as possible.
Misuse of Drugs
Questions (1645)
Colm Burke
Question:1645. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to alerts issued by the HSE on ketamine (details supplied); the measures that his Department is taking to tackle ketamine use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1099/24]
View answerWritten answers
Strengthening harm reduction responses to high-risk drug use is a priority in the national drug strategy.. Strengthening harm reduction responses in the night-time economy and festivals, including drug checking, form part of this priority.
Ketamine is what is known as a ‘dissociative aesthetic’ which is used in medicine and veterinary care. While it is not a new drug trend to present to the market, it is one that has increased in use more recently among young adults who frequent nightlife settings.
For the first time the recently published Healthy Ireland Survey for 2023 asked respondents in the general population to participate in a module focussing on illicit drug use. The results of the survey show that the most common illicit drugs used within the last year are cannabis (5.9%), cocaine (1.9%), ecstasy or MDMA (0.8%), magic mushrooms (0.8%) and ketamine (0.4%).
In 2019, an online study of people who use drugs at festivals (n=1,093) by the HSE and Trinity College Dublin identified that 63% of respondents reported to the use of ketamine at an event. In addition, use was further identified in the European Web Survey for Drugs 2021 Irish findings (N=5,796) where 23% of respondents reporting use, which positioned it as the fourth highest drug used among survey participants following cannabis, cocaine and MDMA.
Through the HSE’s Safer Nightlife Programme, trained volunteers engage with people who use drugs at festivals through outreach and at the HSE designated tent. This work includes providing information, education and harm reduction material about ketamine so people can make informed decisions. This work also involves identifying people who may have overconsumed to help direct cases of concern to medical care providers.
Throughout the four events where the ‘back of house’ drug monitoring service has been available since 2022, the main substances analysed were MDMA (117 samples), ketamine (40 samples) and cocaine (34 samples). A HSE alert was issued at Life Festival in May relating to products considered high strength causing issues at the event. In addition, ketamine continued to be a concern at other events throughout last summer and the HSE continued to provide education on this drug’s short and long term risks and how to minimise harms for those who choose to use.
In addition to outreach services at festivals, the HSE shares resources about ketamine online to raise awareness of the effects, how to reduce harm as well as on the long-term health implications. Ketamine is included as part of on-going awareness raising activities on social media channels through paid advertisements mainly targeting young adults aged 18 to 25 years old.
I will continue to support to the HSE Safer Nightlife Programme and look forward to its expansion in 2024.
Health Services Waiting Lists
Questions (1646)
Michael McNamara
Question:1646. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite a medical appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1113/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday 6th October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.
Substance Misuse
Questions (1647)
Martin Browne
Question:1647. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE posts provided for the Substance Misuse Team in Clonmel, County Tipperary; the number of vacancies at the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1120/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this refers to a service matter, I have sent this PQ to the HSE for direct response. As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday 6th October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.
Health Services
Questions (1648)
Paul Donnelly
Question:1648. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health if CHI has the capacity to provide chest bracing service for children in the public health system as of December 2023. [1128/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is an operational matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday 6th October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.
Hospital Staff
Questions (1649)
Paul Donnelly
Question:1649. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant ENT surgeons attached to Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown in 2022 and 2023, in tabular form. [1129/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently not in a position to answer PQs due to industrial action. It is hoped that normal services will resume soon. In the meantime, this Department will continue to refer PQs to HSE for their direct reply as soon as possible.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Questions (1650)
Paul Donnelly
Question:1650. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the current waiting times for bone density scans for patients at each hospital in the RCSI Group. [1130/24]
View answerWritten answers
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.
As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday 6th October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.
Covid-19 Pandemic Supports
Questions (1651)
Niall Collins
Question:1651. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health if he can advise regarding correspondence and the pandemic recognition payment (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1146/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy.
Covid-19 Pandemic
Questions (1652)
Matt Shanahan
Question:1652. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Health what surveillance activity programme is taking place with respect to monitoring wastewater for Covid; the number of treatment plants that are being monitored as part of the health surveillance; if he will publish the latest data available to his Department on Covid concentrations in municipal wastewater schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1147/24]
View answerWritten answers
The National SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Surveillance Programme (NWSP) is a partnership between the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water), the National Virus Reference Laboratory (NVRL), University College Dublin (UCD) and the HSE Health Intelligence Unit (HIU).
The NWSP aims to complement other case-based surveillance systems which monitor the spread of infectious pathogens of concern in the community. Wastewater samples from 30 catchment areas across the country, covering approximately 70% of the population, are analysed for SARS-CoV-2 to determine the concentration of the virus in wastewater samples. Catchment areas were selected to provide the greatest practicable coverage of the population, and to include different areas of the country. The programme monitors trends in the amount of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. This is an indicator of the level of circulation of COVID-19 in the community.
A comprehensive overview of the programme, including the results of the weekly Surveillance Reports from the Programme, is available on the HPSC website www.hpsc.ie/a-z/nationalwastewatersurveillanceprogramme/.
General Practitioner Services
Questions (1653)
Darren O'Rourke
Question:1653. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the estimated full year cost to increase the number of GP training places in 2024 to 375; the number of GP training places provided in 2023; and the number of persons applied for a GP training place in 2023, in tabular form. [1161/24]
View answerWritten answers
To increase the number of GPs working in the country and thereby improve access to GP services, the annual intake of doctors into the GP training programme has been increased by over 80% since 2015. Last year, there were 286 new entrants to GP training, and 350 places for new entrants are planned for this year. The ICGP, which is responsible for training GPs, indicated that 968 applications were received for 2023, while 1,311 applications were received for this year.
Budget 2024 provides for the increase to 350 places for new entrants to GP training for 2024. The annual year one cost of a doctor on the GP training programme is approximately €105,000, accordingly the cost increasing the number of GP training places by a further 25 places to 375 in 2024 would be approximately €2.6 million.
However, it is important to note that capacity to increase the number of GP trainees must be built through the health service, as for the first two years of training GP trainees rotate through a variety of hospital specialities. Expanding the number of such places available for GP trainees may also carry additional costs which cannot be quantified at this time.
Hospital Services
Questions (1654)
Darren O'Rourke
Question:1654. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of persons that visited the tertiary neurocognitive clinic at St. James's Hospital in 2023, in tabular form. [1162/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday 6th October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.