Finian McGrath
Ceist:821. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 9 with a major disability is not receiving a medical card. [1071/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraMedical Card Eligibility
Ceisteanna (821)
Freagraí scríofa
The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has issued to Oireachtas members.
Medical Card Applications
Ceisteanna (822)
Tom Fleming
Ceist:822. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite and award full medical cards in respect of persons (details supplied) in County Kerry; if he will take into consideration the compelling medical evidence and the fact that the person suffered a stroke and is in urgent need of a full medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1075/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has issued to Oireachtas members.
HSE Staff Remuneration
Ceisteanna (823)
Eoghan Murphy
Ceist:823. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Health his views on making Health Service Executive salaries public knowledge, perhaps on a relevant website, as is the case for PLCs. [1079/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Details of the rates payable nationally, including increments, are contained in the health sector consolidated salary scales issued by my Department. The current and previous scales are available on my Department’s website – http://www.dohc.ie/publications/salaryscales2013.html.
Home Care Packages
Ceisteanna (824)
Dan Neville
Ceist:824. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) in County Limerick will be considered for an increase in home help hours with immediate effect under the home care package; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1088/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
Question No. 825 answered with Question No. 817.
Medical Card Reviews
Ceisteanna (826)
Robert Troy
Ceist:826. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health the reason a medical card review in respect of persons (details supplied) is taking so long to process in the client registration unit. [1092/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has issued to Oireachtas members.
Question No. 827 answered with Question No. 788.
Health Insurance Prices
Ceisteanna (828)
Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:828. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the reason for his proposals to introduce a loyalty bonus for long-standing customers with regard to health insurance; if this will increase the cost and penalise older people by making them pay a higher annual premium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1101/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I am supportive of the concept of Lifetime Community Rating (LCR) as a potential means of helping to address decreasing membership of the private health insurance market. The introduction of LCR, rather than being considered as a loyalty bonus for long standing customers, could perhaps be used as a mechanism to discourage people from only taking out private health insurance as they get older (by allowing commercial insurers to charge higher premiums to “late entrants” to the market) and thus provide an incentive for people to take out private health insurance at a younger age. This is important as the health insurance market requires a sizeable cohort of younger members, who are generally healthier, to offset the high cost of older and less healthy members, which is critical to the sustainability of our system of community-rated health insurance.
It is not possible at this point to quantify the financial implications arising from the introduction of late entrant loading. There are a number of technical issues which have to be further considered, such as the age at which premium loading should commence and the rate at which loading should apply. My Department is working on proposals to address these issues and, in conjunction with the Health Insurance Authority, will assess the full implications of introducing such a measure to the Irish health insurance market.
Hospice Services
Ceisteanna (829)
Simon Harris
Ceist:829. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Health the position on plans for a hospice in a county (details supplied); if funding is in place for the provision of this facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1107/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
Misuse of Drugs
Ceisteanna (830)
Jack Wall
Ceist:830. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Health his views in regard to a submission (details supplied) on the liberalisation of cannabis laws here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1110/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977, the manufacture, production, preparation, sale, supply, distribution and possession of cannabis or cannabis-based medicinal products are unlawful except for the purposes of research. It is not the intention of Government to legalise the use of cannabis. However, my Department is aware that cannabis for medicinal use has been legalised in some countries and that there have been several studies internationally on the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids for a number of medical issues. Notwithstanding the Government’s reluctance to loosen the controls on cannabis generally, draft Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations are being prepared to enable authorised cannabis-based medicinal products to be legally prescribed by medical practitioners and used by patients. The draft Regulations will be submitted to Government seeking the Government's approval to notify them to the EU Commission and Member States under the Technical Standards Directive. At the end of the 3 month EU notification period, Government's approval will be sought to make the relevant Order. It is anticipated that the draft Regulations will be notified in the first quarter of 2014.
Medical Card Applications
Ceisteanna (831)
Tom Fleming
Ceist:831. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will expedite a medical card application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1123/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has issued to Oireachtas members.
Cancer Screening Programmes
Ceisteanna (832)
Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:832. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the expansion of the BreastCheck programme to women aged 65 to 69 years (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1126/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The BreastCheck Programme provides free mammograms to all women aged 50-64. A priority of the BreastCheck Programme at present is to maximise national uptake in the 50-64 year age cohort. It also aims to extend the upper age range to include the 65-69 age cohort as soon as possible in line with available resources.
HIQA Issues
Ceisteanna (833)
Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:833. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the implementation of Health Information and Quality Authority standards in community hospitals caring for the elderly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1127/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
All nursing homes are subject to the same core standards and regulations in relation to quality and safety in order to ensure the well-being of their residents. There are 32 Standards set in the National Quality Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People in Ireland. Each standard is supported by a number of criteria. These criteria are indicative rather than prescriptive, setting out how a service can be measured as to whether the standard is being met or not.
Standard 25 addresses the physical environment for all types of nursing homes. It should be noted that when the Standards were introduced in 2009 a distinction was made between new and existing facilities, indicating that, except in limited circumstances existing facilities should have no more than two residents per room, by 2015. The Chief Inspector has discretion to extend this timeframe. In contrast the criteria for all new builds, new extensions or first time registrations indicates that a minimum of 80% of residents should be accommodated in single rooms and that all bedrooms should have ensuite facilities.
In 2013 HIQA issued a regulatory notice to the nursing home sector in relation to the premises and physical environment of nursing homes. HIQA advised the sector that "where particular criteria regarding premises are not met in the Centre, the provider must provide clear evidence of the other ways by which they are reaching the Standard and must demonstrate to the Chief Inspector that these alternative arrangements are delivering on the Standard for each individual resident. In the case of Standard 25, the Chief Inspector will require substantial and exceptional justification for any premises which purports to meet Standard 25 without implementation of the individual criteria.” My Department in consultation with the HSE will keep the position under review.
HSE Staff Remuneration
Ceisteanna (834)
Clare Daly
Ceist:834. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the persons in the Rotunda Hospital in receipt of a top-up payment and the amount of same according to the recent Health Service Executive audit. [1131/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
Hospital Staff Data
Ceisteanna (835)
Clare Daly
Ceist:835. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health in the context of the Health Service Executive commissioned KPMG study of the three Dublin maternity hospitals in 2009, which stated they were a total of 293 staff short of what is required by best international standards for safety; the midwifery staff numbers in 2009 for each of the three hospitals; and the current numbers of midwifery staff. [1132/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
In relation to the specific query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
HSE Staff Remuneration
Ceisteanna (836)
Clare Daly
Ceist:836. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the current starting salary for a newly qualified midwife. [1133/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The starting salary for a newly qualified midwife is €27,211. This excludes any allowances which may also be payable.
HSE Expenditure
Ceisteanna (837)
Finian McGrath
Ceist:837. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the special delivery unit; the way the €900,000 allocated was spent; the reason a hospital (details supplied) gets most of the funding when other small hospitals do not; and the criteria used for allocation of the funding. [1157/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.