Written Answers. - Drug Subsidisation Scheme.
Helen Keogh
Ceist:
36
Ms Keogh
asked the
Minister for Health
if he will reduce the threshold for the drug subsidisation scheme in cases of asthma which causes severe problems for low income groups who are not entitled to a medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[5773/96]
Limerick East): Persons who suffer from an on-going medical condition can avail of the drug cost subsidisation scheme which caters for people who do not have a medical card and are certified by their general practitioner as having a long-term medical condition, such as asthma, with a regular and ongoing requirement for prescribed drugs and medicines in excess of an amount per month, currently £32.
Persons who quality for inclusion in this scheme will not have to spend more than £32 in any month on prescribed medication. I have no plans to reduce this threshold under the drug cost subsidisation scheme and I am satisfied that appropriate and comprehensive treatment and support is being provided to asthma patients through the existing range of services and support schemes available.
Where an individual or a family is subjected to a significant level of ongoing expenditure on medical expenses — general practitioner fees, prescribed drugs etc, — due to a long-term medical condition, these expenses may be reckoned in determining eligibility for a medical card.
In the case where a particular child or member of a family is incurring heavy expenditure due to their asthmatic condition, the chief executive officer may grant a medical card to cover that child or individual, rather than issue a card to cover the whole family. Eligibility for a medical card is solely a matter for the chief executive officer of the relevant health board to decide.
Under the drugs refund scheme which covers expenditure by the whole family, any expenditure on prescribed medicine above £90 in a calendar quarter is refunded by the health board.
Robert Molloy
Ceist:
37
Mr. Molloy
asked the
Minister for Health
the action, if any, he intends to take regarding the continuing overcrowding situation at the University Hospital, Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[5781/96]
Desmond J. O'Malley
Ceist:
45
Mr. O'Malley
asked the
Minister for Health
the concerns, if any, he has regarding inadequacies relating to the Accident and Emergency Department at the University Hospital, Galway, and the consequent industrial action taken by junior hospital doctors; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[5782/96]
Limerick East): I propose to take Questions Nos. 37 and 45 together.
For some time now the accident and emergency services at University College Hospital in Galway have been the subject of comment in the media. Various representations have been made to me concerning the problems at the hospital and their causes. My Department has had a series of contacts with the Western Health Board on the matter.
I am aware that there are difficulties caused by the physical layout of certain areas of UCHG. The Deputy will know that I have already approved a significant programme of interim development works at the hospital, which will alleviate these problems through the provision of extended accident and emergency facilities. This project is expected to go to tender in a few months time and I hope the builders will be on site by late summer. Apart from an extended accident and emergency department, the project will also encompass the following elements: additional ward accommodation, new X-ray accommodation and upgrading of the existing operating theatres.
The overall cost of this major capital project will be of the order of £5 million.
I moved to address this problem within a matter of months of taking office. However, this building work will, of necessity, take some time and in any event is not likely on its own to offer a solution to the overall challenges of providing an efficient accident and emergency service.
In order to get at the core of the problem, I have requested the Western Health Board to give its analysis of the root causes of the ongoing accident and emergency difficulties at the hospital and to propose a comprehensive plan to address them. In response to this request, I have recently received documentation from the health board which has been examined in my Department. I feel that it does not deal with the issues in a comprehensive manner and I have asked the health board for additional information. When this is provided, my Department will discuss with the health board the various options available in order to improve matters at the hospital.
The Western Health Board put a series of measures in place in 1995 aimed at alleviating the problems in the accident and emergency department in UCHG. In 1995, and in the current year, I have made available a substantial sum in additional revenue funding for acute hospital services in the Western Health Board area. Notwithstanding these measures, the problems at UCHG appear to persist. Preliminary indications seem to point to a series of organisational and management issues which need to be addressed by the management of the health board, rather than the immediate injection of further funds, as requested by the health board.
I should stress that this is not a problem which has arisen overnight. I look to the health board and its management to address the issues involved. Resolution of the accident and emergency difficulties requires close co-operation between primary and acute services, as the Dublin experience has shown. I am confident that, with a similar integrated approach in Galway, the Western Health Board will be able to deliver the quality of service its patients deserve.
With regard to the industrial action by junior hospital doctors at the hospital, I am pleased to say that the specific issue which gave rise to the action is now being resolved. This is an indication of the commitment and dedication of all concerned to the resolution of the present difficulties without further affecting patient care.
