asked the Minister for Health if he will list the categories of patients who receive free medical treatment under the Health Act, 1970.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Health Services.
7.
Medical care will be available without charge at general practitioner level for all persons with full eligibility, as defined under section 45 of the Health Act, 1970. Medical care for maternity and for infants up to the age of six weeks is available without charge for persons with full eligibility and also for persons with limited eligibility, as defined under section 46 of the Act. Medical care in or at hospitals is also available for both of these groups, but charges up to 50p per day may be made for inpatient services for persons with limited eligibility.
Medical treatment for infectious diseases continues to be available free to all under the Health Act, 1947.
Last week it was stated at Question Time that in order to ascertain the categories of patients who would receive completely free treatment a new question would have to be put down. I put down a new question and we still have not got the special classification of patients—epileptics, spina bifidas, thalidomides—who will get completely free treatment under the Health Act.
The scheme is being inaugurated on October 1st. I have not listed the disabilities yet. The House will get plenty of information in advance about the disabilities to be included in this scheme which I mentioned in the Dáil recently.
I have asked questions on this.
8.
asked the Minister for Health the number of wards closed in St. Mary's Hospital, Dublin, due to lack of nursing staff.
I understand from the Eastern Health Board that there are, at present, no wards closed in St. Mary's Hospital due to lack of nursing staff. One ward (36 beds) is currently undergoing renovation and redecoration and will be ready at the end of this month for use as a renal unit and for dental purposes.
9.
asked the Minister for Health the number of fever hospital beds in the Dublin area in 1965, 1968 and 1971.
10.
asked the Minister for Health the number of wards closed in Cherry Orchard Hospital and Clonskeagh Fever Hospital, Dublin due to lack of nursing staff.
11.
asked the Minister for Health the number of fever hospital beds in Clonskeagh Fever Hospital, Dublin, available during 1968, 1969 and 1970.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 10 and 11 together.
The number of fever hospital beds in the Dublin area in 1965 and 1968 was 435. In 1970, the smallpox unit of 24 beds attached to Vergemount Hospital, Clonskeagh, was converted for use as a psychiatric unit, thus reducing the total fever bed complement to 411. The situation in 1971 is that a further reduction to 385 beds has been brought about by the use of a 26 bed ward in Cherry Orchard for the accommodation of student nurses.
However, a new ten bed smallpox unit is in course of construction at Cherry Orchard Hospital and the bed complement will be added to by this number in the near future bringing it to 395.
Does the Minister not think that with the increase in the population in Dublin, and particularly the increase in the number of children in the Dublin area, it is unusual to see the complement of beds decreasing rather than increasing?
Part of the answer to that is given in reply to another question, as the Deputy knows. The bed occupancy of these hospitals is not such as would give cause for alarm that there should be a slight reduction in bed complement in 1970. For Cherry Orchard bed occupancy was 77 per cent and for Vergemount it was 77.8 per cent.
12.
asked the Minister for Health if, in view of the increased number of young families living in the northern suburbs of Dublin city, he will consider transferring one of the two fever hospitals from the south city to the Ballymun/Finglas district.
The amount of accommodation for infectious diseases cases in the Dublin area is adequate and, therefore, any question of new accommodation, such as suggested by the Deputy, would only arise as a matter of convenience to relatives of patients. Fortunately, the numbers of infectious diseases cases arising among children have declined and at present infectious diseases hospitals are utilised to a large extent for minor communicable diseases. The long-term concept suggested in the FitzGerald Report is that major infectious diseases should be catered for in special isolation units attached to general hospitals, and it would be entirely contrary to this concept that a new hospital catering for infectious diseases should be set up on the north side of the city.
Does the Minister not think that due to the vast expansion in the population in the northern suburbs of Dublin, and the numbers of families with young children, the inconvenience caused in getting to the other side of the city, not only to the patients but also to the parents who want to visit and keep in contact with the children, is undesirable and that there is a definite need for a fever hospital on the north side of the city?
I have already replied to that by giving my views in relation to the FitzGerald Report.
13.
asked the Minister for Health the number of public maternity beds available on the north and south sides of Dublin city.
14.
asked the Minister for Health the number of peri-natal paediatric beds available in maternity hospitals on the north and south sides of Dublin city.
15.
asked the Minister for Health the number of children's hospital beds available on the north and south sides of Dublin city.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 13, 14 and 15 together.
As the reply is in the form of a tabular statement, I propose, with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, to circulate it with the Official Report.
Following is the statement:
|
North Dublin |
South Dublin |
|
|
134 |
Maternity Beds |
442 |
|
64 |
Neo-natal Beds in Maternity Hospitals |
102 |
|
695 |
Children's Beds |
966 |
16.
asked the Minister for Health why the dental section in St. Mary's Hospital, Phoenix Park, Dublin, has been closed; and where his Department are going to provide treatment for a large number of people who have been on the waiting list for the past six months and who require urgent specialised treatment.
This section discontinued major oral surgery a few months ago as the staffing, et cetera, facilities were not considered adequate. It is hoped that this work will be resumed at an early date.
Meanwhile, persons requiring urgent treatment are being referred to Dr. Steevens' Hospital in which the required facilities are available. If the Deputy knows of an urgent case where difficulty is being experienced in securing the appropriate treatment, I shall be prepared to make representations in the matter on the making available of particulars.
Is the Minister aware that there are school-going children in Mayo, and probably in many other local authority areas, who need specialised and urgent treatment immediately and who have been on the waiting list for at least six months? If I bring these children to his notice will the Minister see that they are attended to?
If the case is urgent I will. I am being quite frank with the House in saying that there is a delay in the matter of treatment of this kind but I should be glad if any Deputy would make representations to me on urgent cases where there can be no delay in the giving of the treatment.
I would hope that in urgent cases representations to the Minister would not be needed in order to have them attended.
So would I.