Written Answers 234-242
234. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health if he has established an information officer, if this person is in charge of developing and implementing data protection in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8746/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has a comprehensive set of policies and safeguards in place to meet the requirements of Data Protection legislation and, in line with the legislation, has assigned responsibility as Data Controller, to a senior official.
235. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if and when a medical card will issue in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8775/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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.
236. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if and when a medical card will issue in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8776/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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.
237. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if a full medical card will be restored in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare in view of the person's multiple health issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8777/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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.
238. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if and when further consideration will be given to the restoration of a full medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare in view of the fact that further medical evidence from the person's consultant has been submitted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8778/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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.
239. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which assistance will be offered towards the purchase of a wheelchair in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8779/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question relates to a service matter, I have referred it to the Health Service Executive for investigation and direct reply to the Deputy.
240. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent that the public nursing home sector costs per patient are higher than those in the private nursing home sector; if strict comparison has been made with the mobility of the patients in each case in order to make a valid comparison; the extent to which the public nursing home sector caters for patients of a higher dependency requiring more intensive and specialist nursing care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8849/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI presume the Deputy's question relates to recent coverage in the media of a report commissioned by Nursing Homes Ireland called Health’s Ageing Crisis: Time For Action - A Future Strategy for Ireland’s Long-Term Residential Care Sector. My Department was not involved in the commissioning of this report, but further information on the methodology applied may be available direct from Nursing Homes Ireland.
However, the Long-Stay Activities Statistics for 2012 (the most recent year available), which are published on the Department's website, provide information in respect of the percentage distribution of patients resident by level of dependency in long-term care as at the 31st December that year. These are self-reported survey results and can be summarised as follows:
Survey Response Rate -78.1%
Long-Stay Units by Category: Percentage Distribution of Patients Resident by Level of Dependency
|
Region |
Low Dependency |
Medium Dependency |
High Dependency |
Maximum Dependency |
Total |
|
HSE Extended Care Unit |
4.0 |
12.3 |
24.5 |
59.3 |
100% |
|
HSE Welfare Home |
9.3 |
19.8 |
20.8 |
50.0 |
100% |
|
Voluntary Home |
12.6 |
21.0 |
27.0 |
39.4 |
100% |
|
Voluntary Welfare Home |
33.2 |
13.4 |
26.9 |
26.5 |
100% |
|
Private Nursing Home |
13.3 |
23.1 |
28.3 |
35.4 |
100% |
|
Total |
11.7 |
20.7 |
27.2 |
40.4 |
100% |
One of the key priorities identified in the HSE's National Service Plan for 2014 is the implementation of a Single Assessment Tool (SAT) for older people. This standardised framework will uniformly assess dependency levels, allow resources to be targeted towards those with the greatest needs and enable supports and services to be designed in the most appropriate way possible. The first phase of implementation of the SAT will commence in 2014 with a minimum of 50% of all new entries to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, Home Care Package and Home Help Schemes assessed by the SAT in the last quarter of 2014, with full implementation of SAT by the end of 2015.
241. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health the measures being taken at Beaumont Hospital to deal with overcrowding in the accident and emergency department and to deal with an outbreak of flu; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8851/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Health, the HSE SDU and the INMO are at one in regarding trolley waits to be an unacceptable feature of the Irish healthcare system which must be addressed. However, year to date on a national basis we are 2.2% ahead of 2013 and 33.4% ahead of the baseline 2011 trolley count. These percentages are equivalent to 211 and 4,649 fewer patients on trolleys respectively.
I am advised by the HSE that the Emergency Department in Beaumont Hospital has been under pressure for some weeks. Since the start of 2014, the rate of admission to the hospital from the ED has increased from just below 1 in 5 patients attending its ED to just below 1 in 3. This indicates that those presenting so far this year have tended to be sicker and requiring more care and treatment. Notwithstanding this, Beaumont has achieved reductions in the first 7 weeks of 2014, as it did also in 2013:
Beaumont Hospital: Patients on Trolleys for first 7 weeks of the year: 2012 / 2013 / 2014
|
W/ending |
Number of patients on trolleys |
|
10 February 2012 |
1,001 |
|
8 February 2013 |
941 |
|
14 February 2014 |
850 |
Data published on Department website at http://www.dohc.ie/statistics/tw/archive.html
Beaumont has taken a number of steps already to cope with the increased demand. All of the 15 beds that were closed have been re-opened. Routine elective procedures have been postponed and additional capacity for diagnostic tests at weekends has opened. Consultants and senior medical staff engage in regular ward rounds to ensure that patients are identified for discharge as appropriate in a timely manner. Access has been provided for Beaumont patients to twelve additional beds in nursing homes to reduce delayed discharges. The number of patients awaiting long-term care has reduced from 85 at 28 November 2013 to 63 at 30 January 2014. In terms of staffing, all medical posts have been filled since January and an additional six nurses were appointed in the last nine weeks.
As with all hospitals experiencing pressure in the early weeks of 2014, Beaumont Hospital is making ongoing process improvements in its Emergency Department, its Acute Medical Assessment Unit (AMAU) and in-patient wards, in collaboration with the SDU and HSE. These measures have led to significant improvements in the patient experience times in Emergency Departments.
242. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health his plans to embrace the medilife card (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8856/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have requested the Health Service Executive to examine the matter and to revert to the Deputy.
