Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 30 Jun 1998

Vol. 493 No. 3

Written Answers. - Post Polio Syndrome.

Róisín Shortall

Ceist:

288 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children if he or his officials have met with the Post Polio Support Group in the past 12 months; if so, the nature and content of the discussions with that group; the action, if any, to be taken by his Department following these discussions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15969/98]

Róisín Shortall

Ceist:

306 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the hardship being endured by many sufferers of the late effect of polio in view of the persistent failure by the authorities at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, to make a physiotherapist available for the treatment of sufferers who attend the neurological outpatients clinic; the measures, if any, he will take to remedy this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16336/98]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 288 and 306 together.

My colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Mary Wallace, accompanied by an officer of my Department, met the Post Polio Support Group on 25 February 1998 in Leinster House. The discussions covered research on post polio syndrome or the late effects of polio and current medical knowledge about the condition; the provision of therapy services and aids and applicances required by persons suffering from the condition and funding for these items and, in addition, the impact of the cost of the disability on such persons was addressed; a request to establish a trust fund to support the group and the automatic granting of medical cards for persons suffering with the post polio condition and plans for a conference by the Post Polio Support Group in 1999 and the establishment, in the health boards, of a database in relation to people with physical and sensory disabilities.

In common with other voluntary sector groups providing services for people with physical and sensory disabilities, requisite action arising in the context of the Post Polio Support Group is based on the recommendations of the report of the review group on health and personal social services for people with physical and sensory disabilities, "Towards an Independent Future", published in December 1996. That report sets out the requirements for the development of services for people with a physical and sensory disability. In the context of the Post Polio Support Group's requirements for the overall development of services, two key recommendations in "Towards an Independent Future", which was addressed at the meeting, are the establishment of co-ordinating committees within each health board and the establishment of a database on the health service needs of persons with physical and sensory disabilities.

Health boards, in consultation with the co-ordinating committees, will decide priorities for allocating the additional monies made available by the Government for the development of services for people with physical and sensory disabilities while the establishment of the database is crucial to identifying priorities for the development of such services. The co-ordinating committees have been established within each health board and, following the recent completion of a joint database pilot project in three health board areas, I will shortly be setting up a national database development committee. The additional funding made available by this Government — £10 million in 1997 and £8.4 million in 1998 — for the maintenance and development of services for people with physical and sensory disabilities represents a major step towards meeting the recommendations contained in the report "Towards an Independent Future".

With regard to other matters raised at the meeting, namely, research into post polio syndrome and automatic entitlement to medical cards for members of the group, I will be glad to facilitate in whatever way I can the dissemination of information to the medical profession arising from research in this field. Previous Governments did not feel that it was justifiable to extend an automatic entitlement to a medical card to any specific group without reference to their means, as a general rule, particularly in view of the many areas of pressing need in the health services and the limited resources available to meet them. The Government has identified, as a key priority in its programme, An Action Programme for the Millennium, a review of medical card eligibility for the elderly and large families. My Department has asked the chief executive officers of the health boards to consider the commitment and to give their views as to how it might be implemented and the implications, financial and otherwise of their proposals. I expect to have the views of the chief executive officers shortly. With regard to the provision of physiotherapy services at Beaumont Hospital, this matter was not raised by the Post Polio Support Group at the meeting mentioned above or in any other representations made to me. I understand that a physiotherapy service is available at Beaumont Hospital for post polio patients who are admitted to the hospital and referred for physiotherapy. Post polio sufferers who are living in the community would have recourse to community therapy services.