Written Answers Nos. 702-718
702. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Health the supports in place for a person (details supplied) in Dublin 4 who suffers from H1N1 swine flu vaccine-induced narcolepsy to reach third level education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41556/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe HSE and the Department of Education and Skills are providing a range of services and supports to individuals diagnosed with narcolepsy following pandemic vaccination regardless of age, on an ex-gratia basis. These services and supports which are co-ordinated by the HSE National Advocacy Unit are intended to provide that individuals receive tailored assistance to address their specific requirements, where appropriate. It is acknowledged that treatment and individual medical needs may need to be reassessed over time to take account of changes in their condition or circumstances.
As the Deputy’s question relates to an individual case it has been referred to the HSE for a direct reply.
If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
703. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Health if pharmacists have no responsibility for the collection of prescription charges for those resident in private or Health Service Executive nursing homes; whether they have no liability for such charges; and that the responsibility for such charges are the responsibility of the managers of such homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41558/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe HSE is responsible for the administration of the GMS and community drugs schemes and has put in place procedures for the collection of prescription charges for nursing home residents.
If a person is a resident in a Health Service Executive nursing home, the provider of the accommodation will pay the charge on the resident's behalf and will make the necessary arrangements for collection of the charge from the resident.
If a person is a resident in a private nursing home the resident's pharmacist will discuss arrangements to collect prescription charges with the nursing home manager.
704. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Health if persons involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act 2001 are liable for inpatient charges; if such charges apply to inpatient service users in acute units who are voluntary under the meaning of said Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41563/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraExemptions from the statutory in-patient charge of €75 are listed in Statutory Instruments Nos. 116/1987 and 348/2003. Included among those exemptions are persons with full eligibility i.e. medical card holders, women receiving services in respect of motherhood and children up to the age of six weeks. No exemptions are provided in respect of in-patient charges for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 2001.
705. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a recent ruling of medical misadventure by the Dublin City Coroner is respect of a person (details supplied) and his identification of a number of areas of care which are risk factors for other patients; the action he proposes to take on foot of this ruling; if this will include a Health Service Executive inquiry into the person's death and a Health Information and Quality Authority investigation into standards at the hospital concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41565/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is not aware of the details of this case and is not routinely informed of Coroner's Inquests. I have asked the Health Service Executive for an update on this particular case and I will forward it to the Deputy as soon as I receive it.
706. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if he is satisfied that the recent rate reductions in respect of the tender process for the provision of services for the elderly in the community will not compromise the standard of services being provided to the elderly (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41569/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
707. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health his schedule of visits to hospitals and if he has visited Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9. [41574/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have not visited Beaumont Hospital yet. I paid a visit to Connolly Hospital on 23 July 2014 to officially open the Acute Medical Assessment Unit and the MRI Scanner. I also visited Roscommon Hospital on 27 September 2014. I do not currently have a formal schedule of hospital visits. However, it is my intention to visit different hospital sites as the opportunity arises.
708. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health the legal basis that applies to grant payments under the fair deal scheme from the date funds are released rather than the date of approval to the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41585/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra709. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health if the decision not to provide funding under the fair deal scheme from the date of approval is in contravention to the Health Act 1970; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41586/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 708 and 709 together.
The Fair Deal Scheme provides financial assistance for those who require long-term nursing home care, with residents contributing a portion of the cost in accordance with their means. This Scheme came into being by virtue of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009. Section 39 of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009 states that:
"The Executive may, with the consent of the Minister, issue guidelines consistent with this Act, whether relating to the performance of a function of the Executive or otherwise, for the purpose of providing practical guidance in respect of any provision of this Act or regulations made under it."
The National Guidelines for the Standardised Implementation of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme are available on the HSE's website. The guidelines state that, subject to overall resources, people who enter nursing homes will have their financial support paid either from the date that the application is approved, or date of admission to the nursing home, whichever is the later. The Minister for Health approved these guidelines in order to ensure the Scheme's ongoing sustainability.
711. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health his views on the fact that it will take 15 weeks to issue fair deal funding to a person (details supplied) whose application was approved on 1 October 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41588/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
712. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an operation in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and when they will be recalled for operation. [41593/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to the particular patient query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to him directly.
If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
713. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 367 of 21 October 2014, if he will address the problem of MMS and CD being available via open information sharing by doctors and other doctors, parents, schools, counsellors, therapists and so on, as to the nature of chlorine dioxide, its effects on the human body and co-operating with a company (details supplied) and other online suppliers in order to shut them down and ensure that Customs and Excise can seize products on entry into the country. [41604/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs previously advised, under the Medicinal Products (Control of Placing on the Market) Regulations 2007, as amended, a medicinal product cannot be placed on the market in Ireland unless it has a marketing authorisation from the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) or a community marketing authorisation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Any product which makes a medicinal claim requires an authorisation under this legislation. Master Mineral Solution (MMS) or CD is not authorised as a medicine for sale or supply in Ireland and it is therefore an offence to place this product on the market in Ireland without a marketing authorisation.
The HPRA advises consumers not to take Master Minister Solution (MMS) or CD. The Food Safety Authority and the National Poisons Information Centre of Ireland have also issued a public safety warning regarding the use of MMS.
The professions cited in the Deputies question may, at their discretion, choose to circulate, through the appropriate fora, publicly available material regarding the product.
The HPRA has confirmed that it is actively following up on this issue as a matter of urgency. The HPRA is satisfied that it has sufficient powers under existing legislation to investigate attempts to supply this product in Ireland.
The power to 'shut down' online internet suppliers of unauthorised medicinal products is beyond the remit of my Department.
714. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Health if he will reinstate the drug Fampridine for Health Service Executive drug funded schemes to patients who qualify for its use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41609/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra755. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Health his plans to make Fampyra available to multiple sclerosis suffers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41856/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 714 and 755 together.
Firstly I would like to clarify that Fampridine (Fampyra®) was never available to multiple sclerosis patients under the GMS and community drugs schemes. However, I understand that the manufacturer of Fampridine supplied the drug free of charge to some patients who were prescribed the drug by their clinician. The manufacturer has decided to stop supplying the drug free of charge and, as a consequence, these patients are now faced with financing the drug themselves if they wish to continue with this drug treatment.
The HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicinal products under the community drug schemes in accordance with the provisions of the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013.
The HSE received an application for the inclusion of Fampridine in the GMS and community drugs schemes. The application was considered in line with the procedures and timescales agreed by the Department of Health and the HSE with the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association for the assessment of new medicines.
In accordance with these procedures, the NCPE conducted a pharmacoeconomic evaluation of Fampridine and concluded that, as the manufacturer was unable to demonstrate sufficient effectiveness and a fair price for Fampridine in the Irish health care setting, it was unable to recommend the reimbursement of the product. The report is available on the NCPE's website (www.ncpe.ie ).
On foot of this, the HSE decided that it was not in a position to add the drug to the List of Reimbursable Items supplied under the GMS and other community drug schemes.
It is open to the supplier, at any time, to submit a new application to the HSE for the inclusion of Fampridine on the community drugs schemes incorporating new evidence which demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of the drug, by offering a reduced price or both. A revised application was received by the HSE on 25th July 2014 and is currently being considered in line with the agreed procedures and timescales. No further comment is possible at this time as the HSE decision making process is ongoing.
I would like to assure the Deputy that the Department, and the HSE, fully understand the concerns of patients regarding the availability of this drug. While I appreciate that some may take the view that the taxpayer should reimburse every licensed medicine for whatever the price the drug company demands, I hope the Deputy will appreciate that the better interests of the health service require that we reimburse only the most effective medicines and only at a fair price.
715. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an application for a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41623/14]
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.
If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office who will follow up the matter with them.
716. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the role of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland in respect of the practise of midwifery and whether it is the responsibility of the board, rather than the Health Service Executive, to review the position. [41629/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that I have sought the information on matters raised in your question from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland. I will reply in this regard in due course.
717. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health his plans to amend section 40 of the Nurses and Midwives Act which ties the need for indemnity insurance directly to an unreliable service level agreement with the Health Service Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41630/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to thank the Deputy for raising the issue, and inform her that there are currently no plans to amend section 40 of the Nurses and Midwives Act, 2011.
718. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the way the Office of the Nursing and Midwifery Services Director has been constituted; from whom the authority of the office is derived; the criteria and schedule of work that accompanies the position of national lead midwife; if the national lead midwife post was advertised; if not, the reason for this; when the district midwife officer posts were advertised and the criteria regarding relevant home birth experience; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41631/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.
If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
