Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 29 Feb 2000

Vol. 515 No. 3

Written Answers. - Departmental Consultancies.

Nora Owen

Ceist:

180 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Health and Children the consultancies, work groups and specialist groups employed for carrying out studies in his Department; when these groups were established; when their reports are expected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5787/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The information requested by the Deputy is as follows:

Consultancies

Title:	Performance Management in theHealth Sector
Consultant:	IPA
Established:	1999
Report Expected:	Report is expected within a month
Title:	Service Planning in the health sector
Consultant:	IPA
Established:	1999
Report Expected:	Report is expected within a month
Title:	Review of the operation of the Health Amendment Act, 1991.
Consultant:	ESRI
Established:	March 1998
Report Expected:	The draft report is now with the ESRI's internal referees after which it will be sent to their external referees. It is scheduled for publication in 2000.
Title:	Casemix Statisticians.One staff currently engaged by the Department.Advertisements have been placed to fill a second post.
Established:	Annual Contract
Report Expected:	no report due
Title:	Insurance/Actuarial Advisory Service
Consultant:	Mercer Ltd.
Established:	June 1998
Report Expected:	no report due
Title:	Study of Emergency Ambulance Communications
Consultant:	RCC Consultants
Established:	October 1999
Report Expected:	March 2000
Title:	Development of an accounting spreadsheet for voluntary agencies
Consultant:	Deloitte & Touche
Established:	August 1999: Phase One completed
Report Expected:	Spreadsheet to be available in 2000
Title:	National Child Care Strategy
Consultant:	Colgan & Associates
Established:	January 2000
Report Expected:	It is expected that the report will be ready to send to Government by summer 2000
Title:	Inspection of Medical Devices
Consultant:	National Standards Authority of Ireland
Established:	August 1999
Report Expected:	Reports have been received and are being analysed.

Value-for-Money Audit Steering Group

Membership:	Representatives of Health Board, Voluntary Hospitals and the Departments of Health and Children and Finance
Established	February 2000
Report Expected:	Report due 2001

Service Planning Group

Membership:	Representatives of Health Boards and this Department
Established	October 1997
Report Expected:	No report due

Working Group considering the movement towards full economic costing for bed charges in relation to public hospitals

Membership:	Department officials
Established	December 1999
Report Expected:	Recommendations to be reported in 2000.

Target Health Research Project

Start:	Dec. 1999
Report:	Nov. 2000

National Nutrition Surveillance Centre

Start:	1992
Report:	Annual

The consultative council on hepatitis C was established in November 1996. Its functions are to advise and make recommendations to the Minister, at his request or on its own initiative, on all aspects of hepatitis C. The work of the council is ongoing.

Prof. Hannah McGee, Health Services Research Centre, Royal College of Surgeons, was contracted on 14 July 1998 by the consultative council on hepatitis C to undertake a review of health services for persons with hepatitis C. Prof. McGee's draft final report has been submitted to the consultative council for comment and it is expected that the final report will be presented to the Minister in March 2000.

The expert group on hepatitis C was established in September 1997 to make recommendations to the Minister on the clinical and non-clinical management of women who received anti-D which was infected or potentially infected with hepatitis C but who tested negative for the virus. The group's work is ongoing.

The national blood users group was established in July 1998, comprising a number of specialists with a particular interest in blood utilisation. The functions of the group are to develop blood utilisation guidelines, key quality indicators and protocols for the administration of blood and blood products. Its work is ongoing.

Mercer Ltd. was contracted by the Department on 30 April 1999 to conduct a study into insurance difficulties experienced by certain persons with hepatitis C. Its final report is expected to be submitted to the Department in March 2000.

A national advisory committee on palliative care was set up in September, 1999. The brief of the committee is to prepare a comprehensive national policy for the strategic planning and development of palliative care services. The committee will report before the end of 2000.

A working group on elder abuse was established in October 1999. The working group has drawn up a two year time frame which will involve,inter alia, development of a training brief, the organisation of pilot projects, implementation of awareness and training programmes, preparation of evaluation report, and culminating in the presentation of a report to the Minister.

An interdepartmental working group was set up at the end of 1998 to establish a standard needs assessment protocol covering both the needs of the carers and the care recipient comprising representatives from the Department, the Department of Social Community and Family Affairs, the health boards and the voluntary sector. A pilot project is currently in the process of being established in County Mayo.

An interdepartmental working group comprising representatives from a number of Government Departments was established in 1999 to develop the national children's strategy. The national children's strategy is being developed to map out a direction for the development of supports and services over the next ten years through a set of realisable goals which will address all aspects of the life of children and young persons. The national children's strategy is being developed with the assistance of two advisory panels, NGO service providers panel and a research and information advisory panel.

On 31 May 1999 the Department entered into a contract with Drury Communications for the drafting of a national traveller health policy in partnership with the traveller health advisory committee in the Department. A draft of the document is currently being finalised by the committee in consultation with Drury Communications.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland was engaged in August 1999 to inspect manufacturers of medical devices to assess compliance with the European Communities (Medical Devices) Regulations, 1994, S.I. 252 of 1994. The consultancy is due to be finalised shortly.

The Nursing Education Forum was established in January 1999 in accordance with a recommendation of the report of the commission on nursing. The forum is expected to report to the Minister by 30 September 2000.

The forum on medical manpower was established in May 1998 to consider the entire question of the future medical staffing of hospitals. The forum will publish a report shortly.