Mark Ward
Question:649. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health for a report on the staff vacancies in the Clondalkin mental health services, efforts to fill vacancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2924/24]
View answerMental Health Services
Questions (649)
Written answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy 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, 6 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.
Mental Health Services
Questions (650)
Mark Ward
Question:650. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health what the nurse-to-patients ratio in the Clondalkin mental health services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2925/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy 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, 6 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.
Pharmacy Services
Questions (651)
Richard Bruton
Question:651. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health whether the group considering expanding the role of community pharmacists has reported to him; and if he is considering increasing the fees for existing work or introducing funding for new activities, which could see improvements in service. [2934/24]
View answerWritten answers
On 24th July 2023, as Minister for Health, I established an Expert Taskforce to support the expansion of the role of Pharmacy in Ireland. The remit of the Taskforce is to identify and support the delivery of specific objectives, which will serve to align services and practices that can be delivered by pharmacists, and pharmacies, with the needs of the health service and patients. The Taskforce comprises 13 individuals who each bring the specific expertise, perspective and competence needed to provide a holistic overview of the actions required to optimise the expansion of health service provision through pharmacy and pharmacists.
The Expert Taskforce reported to me at the end of October 2023 regarding recommendations from Phase 1 of their terms of reference - Empowering Pharmacists to Extend Prescriptions. The main recommendation that has transpired from Phase 1 is that the legal validity of prescriptions should be extended to a maximum of 12 months. The potential need for engagement with the healthcare provider at an early point is recognised and to this end, pharmacists should be given the authority to extend prescriptions up to a maximum of 12 months duration. Work is ongoing within the Department and amongst stakeholders to implement this recommendation into practice.
Engagement with relevant stakeholders is ongoing to ensure that all operational issues involved, included any contract enablers needed, are in place.
The Expert Taskforce are currently working on Phase 2, working towards “Empowering Pharmacists to Prescribe within their scope of Practice”. The Expert taskforce will report to me on this phase of their work in the coming months.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Questions (652)
Alan Kelly
Question:652. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of persons waiting to see a consultant vascular surgeon at Cork University Hospital. [2947/24]
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.
Ambulance Service
Questions (653)
Alan Kelly
Question:653. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the percentage of Clinical Status 1 ECHO and Clinical Status 1 Delta incidents responded by a patient carrying ambulance in 18 minutes and 59 seconds or less for December 2023, by ambulance region, in tabular form. [2948/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Covid-19 Pandemic
Questions (654)
John McGuinness
Question:654. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the procurement and oversight process which was used by his Department/HSE when renting or leasing hotels for use during Covid; if he is satisfied that the systems were robust and transparent and delivered value for money respecting the fact that it was an emergency situation; if his Department or the HSE have received any complaints about contractors and the operation of the contracts; and if a look-back is being undertaken by his Department/HSE. [2966/24]
View answerWritten answers
I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy as the HSE was responsible for the rent or lease of hotels for different purposes during the COVID-19 response.
However, as my Department separately operated and managed Mandatory Hotel Quarantine (MHQ), I have included a brief summary.
Following Government decision S180/20/10/2587 of 17 February 2021 and the subsequent passage of the Health (Amendment) Bill 2021 through the Oireachtas, MHQ commenced in March 2021 as one element of Ireland’s response to COVID-19. The MHQ system was introduced as an exceptional public health measure, given the serious risk of importation of variants of concern with the potential to overwhelm the health service and to undermine the national vaccination programme.
MHQ was operational for 6 months between 26 March – 26 September 2021, and in total, 10,398 people passed through the system. At the peak of operation some 60 states were designated, with the greatest number of persons in MHQ at one time reaching 1,008 on 9 May 2021. At the time of highest demand, MHQ had a capacity of 1,607 rooms spread across 8 hotels. These facilities were contracted with an associated suite of services including security, transportation, and medical care. In addition, the State mobilised resources to enable testing of staff and residents, incident response and on-site 24/7 State Liaison Office (SLO) functions (the latter provided by teams of Defence Forces personnel).
The MHQ system was provided for by primary legislation (the Health Act 1947, as amended) and had to be designed and implemented against extremely tight timelines. My Department entered into a contract with Tifco Hotel Group on 16 March 2021 providing for Tifco to take on the role of single service provider and this arrangement, with contractual extensions, ran to the end of August 2021. Following an open tender competition for the provision of MHQ services post the initial contract, my Department entered into a new contract with Tifco Hotel Group on 1 September 2021 for the continued provision of MHQ services until 31 October 2021.
Hospital Facilities
Questions (655)
Jennifer Murnane O'Connor
Question:655. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Health the plans to upgrade facilities at St. Dympna's Hospital, Carlow; if a contractor has been appointed; the expected start date for refurbishment; the impact on services for service users; the timescale for delivery on these plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2976/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy 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, 6 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 (656)
Jennifer Murnane O'Connor
Question:656. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Health if there are plans for an expanded CareDoc operated service developing an injury clinic for Carlow; if he has had any engagement with stakeholders willing to provide this service; if his Department has undertaken a public service need survey of this in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2977/24]
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.
Hospital Facilities
Questions (657)
Jennifer Murnane O'Connor
Question:657. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Health if his Department plans to reopen the X-ray clinic and dental clinic in St. Dympna's Hospital, Carlow which have been closed for remodelling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2978/24]
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.
Home Help Service
Questions (658)
Robert Troy
Question:658. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite the allocation of home help hours for a person (details supplied). [2986/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is an operational 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, 6 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
Nursing Homes
Questions (659)
Robert Troy
Question:659. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the fair deal application of a person (details supplied). [2987/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is an operational 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, 6 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 (660)
Frankie Feighan
Question:660. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a full update regarding the development of the 42 bed unit extension to Sligo University Hospital; the timelines around tender closing dates and expected construction commencement and competition; and if he will update regarding other capital developments in and around the hospital campus in Sligo. [2993/24]
View answerWritten answers
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.
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 Services
Questions (661, 662, 663)
Alan Dillon
Question:661. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Health to provide information on why the public fertility treatment system does not provide for male fertility specialists, despite the fact that infertility affects both men and women equally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2994/24]
View answerAlan Dillon
Question:662. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Health if he will take the necessary steps to ensure that policy related to the public fertility treatment system in Ireland provides equal treatment and care for both men and women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2995/24]
View answerAlan Dillon
Question:663. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Health to detail what measures are being taken to acknowledge and address male fertility issues in order to improve the overall success rates of fertility treatments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2996/24]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 661 to 663, inclusive, together.
As the Deputy may be aware, a commitment to “introduce a publicly funded model of care for fertility treatment” is included in the Programme for Government.
The Model of Care for Fertility was developed by the Department of Health in conjunction with the HSE’s National Women & Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) in order to ensure that fertility-related issues are addressed through the public health system at the lowest level of clinical intervention necessary.
This Model of Care comprises three stages, starting in primary care (i.e., GPs) and extending into secondary care (i.e., Regional Fertility Hubs) and then, where necessary, tertiary care (i.e., IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) and ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection)), with patients being referred onwards through structured pathways.
Phase One of the roll-out of the Model of Care has involved the establishment, at secondary care level, of Regional Fertility Hubs within maternity networks, in order to facilitate the management of a significant proportion of patients presenting with fertility-related issues at this level of intervention without the need to undergo invasive IVF or ICSI treatment. Patients are referred by their GPs to their local Regional Fertility Hub, which provides a range of treatments and interventions. All six Regional Fertility Hubs are currently operational.
Phase Two of the roll-out of the Model of Care relates to the introduction of AHR treatment, including IVF, provided through the public health system at tertiary level. In particular, the first steps have been taken towards achieving the ultimate objective of Government, which is a wholly publicly-provided fertility service.
As an interim measure, funding was made available to support access to AHR treatment via private providers from September 2023. As well as IVF and ICSI, this allocation is also being used to provide, initially through private clinics, IUI (intrauterine insemination), which can, for certain cohorts of patients, be a potentially effective, yet less complex and less intrusive treatment.
Referrals for AHR treatment by private providers commenced on 25 September 2023 after details of how the new initiative would be initially rolled out – including regarding the set of criteria which prospective patients should meet in order to access fully-funded AHR services and the specific services to be initially funded – were agreed by the Department and NWIHP and then brought to Cabinet in July 2023. The criteria were agreed following consultation with experts in the field of reproductive medicine and include limits in respect of the age of the intending birth mother, body mass index (BMI) and the number of children a couple already have. They are very much in keeping with those applied in other jurisdictions, even though in most European countries, for instance, such treatments are only partially funded and require often significant out-of-pocket payments by patients. More details on public fertility services generally, including information on the new publicly-funded AHR treatment initiative, are available from the HSE at: www2.hse.ie/conditions/fertility-problems-treatments/fertility-treatment/
Following consultation with the HSE, I can confirm that fertility advice and information provided by the HSE is very much directed at both female and male patients and what each can do to mind their reproductive health and any procedures that either may require. Investigations and tests specifically regarding the fertility status of males presenting at Regional Fertility Hubs are provided with a view to devising the appropriate care plan for the couple in line with evidence-based practice. Where clinically indicated, a referral to a urologist can be made by a Hub fertility team for a male patient where such is deemed clinically required. The HSE is currently working with urology specialists with a view to further expanding the capacity of these public referral pathways in tandem with defining the evidence-based clinical criteria that would trigger such a referral.
My Department and the Government are focused, through the full implementation of the Model of Care for Fertility, on ensuring that patients receive care at the appropriate level of clinical intervention and then those requiring, and eligible for, advanced AHR treatment such as IVF will be able to access same through the public health system. The underlying aim of the policy to provide a model of funding for AHR, within the broader new AHR regulatory framework, is to improve accessibility to AHR treatments, while at the same time embedding safe and appropriate clinical practice and ensuring the cost-effective use of public resources.