Written Answers Nos. 623-640
623. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Health the number of patients with diabetes who had a lower limb amputation classified as a major amputation; the number who were classified as minor amputations in each of the years 2012 to 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11493/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive 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.
624. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health the reason for the substantial delay in medical treatment for a person (details supplied) in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11494/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe scheduling of appointments for patients is a matter for the hospital to which the patient has been referred. Should a patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he or she should take the matter up with the consultant and the hospital involved. In relation to the specific case raised, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
625. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Longford will receive orthodontic treatment in view of the fact that the person was assessed in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11498/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
626. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if funding is available from his Department to support the establishment of a community first responder group (details supplied). [11501/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Ambulance Service provides support to Community First Responder groups in relation to training, management and administration of schemes. In relation to funding, my Department administers a National Lottery Discretionary Fund, from which once-off grants are paid to community and voluntary organisations providing a range of health-related services. Organisations wishing to make an application for National Lottery Funding should submit a formal application. The closing date for applications is 1 May 2015.
Further information about the grant scheme, along with the application form, are set out on the Department's website at www.health.gov.ie.
627. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the number of medical cards; and general practitioner cards, as of 1 March 2015; and the number for each, issued on a discretionary basis, on that date [11505/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe medical and GP visit card figures, as requested by the Deputy are provided as follows:
|
Card Type |
No. of Cards - 1 March 2015 |
|
Medical Cards |
1,758,050 |
|
of which granted involving discretion |
81,265 |
|
GP Visit Cards |
160,004 |
|
of which granted involving discretion |
36,874 |
628. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health the details of availability of ocular Zovirax; if recommendations on prescribing alternative medications will be made for any period during which it is not available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11507/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraZovirax® Eye Ointment is produced by Glaxo Smithkline (GSK) and is an ocular preparation of the anti-viral drug aciclovir. It is licensed in Ireland for treatment of herpes simplex keratitis.
There has been a shortage in Ireland and in other countries of the product since late last year due to a number of batches of the active ingredient (aciclovir) having small metal particles larger than allowed. As a result, a number of batches across the globe were recalled in November 2014.
While none of the affected batches had been distributed in Ireland, supplies of unaffected batches have been available in only very limited quantities in Ireland since then.
There are no generic versions of Zovirax® Eye Ointment authorised in Ireland but Zovirax® tablets have remained available. A small number of unauthorised alternative products (other anti-viral eye preparations) have been available for pharmacies to order since the shortage began. These include eye products such as Virupos® ointment, or Virgan® eye gel. Limited supplies of the Zovirax® Eye Ointment product from other countries have been available for ordering in Ireland, as an unauthorised product.
On 4 November 2014 the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA- the medicines regulator in Ireland) informed doctors and pharmacists that GSK was rationing product supplies in light of the global shortage. Information on alternative products was provided. GSK issued a letter providing similar information on 5 November 2014 (and was posted on the HPRA's website.)
On March 19th, 2015, GSK informed the HPRA that stocks of Zovirax ®Eye Ointment in Ireland would be exhausted completely by April 2015, and that the expected resupply date was the first quarter of 2016. The HPRA is currently working with GSK to communicate this information to doctors and pharmacists. The unauthorised anti-viral eye products have continued to be imported into Ireland in recent months. The advice issued in November 2014 to doctors and pharmacists in relation to prescribing alternative medications remains valid.
629. Deputy Dinny McGinley asked the Minister for Health if an application for a medical card has been made in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and when a decision will be made on the case [11517/15]
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.
630. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if funding will be made available for research in smart technology for those with visual impairment, in view of the fact that there are up to 250,000 persons here with some form of visual defect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11519/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department supports research in health through the Health Research Board (HRB). The HRB is a statutory body under the aegis of the Department of Health and is the lead agency in Ireland supporting and funding health research. For 2015 the HRB's funding from my Department will be in the region of €40 million.
I am advised by the HRB that it does not ring-fence funding for any particular type of disease or disorder. It does not exclude any field of health research, once it meets the HRB's criteria of excellence, and it welcomes applications from any disease area including smart technologies to tackle or assist those with sight loss. Since 2010 the HRB has funded research projects to the value of € 3.6m on eye diseases and disorders.
Health research projects in Ireland, including those related to visual impairment, can also take place in many other fora including universities, hospitals, etc. Information on these research projects are not available in my Department.
631. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo was added to the national treatment purchase fund list three years ago, but is now being quoted as being added to a waiting list in November 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11521/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
632. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a surgical appointment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Louth; the reason no appointment has yet been scheduled. [11525/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy's question relates to service delivery matters and accordingly I have asked the HSE to respond directly to him. 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.
633. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Louth will receive a surgical appointment for the removal of cataracts. [11533/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has been adopted by the Health Service Executive, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
634. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if he will review a decision made by a national health insurance provider not to cover a person (details supplied) in County Longford for treatment, especially in view of the fact that the same insurance policy with the same insurance company covered previous admissions to the same hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11534/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Health I have no role in the commercial decisions of any of the private health insurance companies. Health insurers operate in a competitive market and are free to include certain terms and conditions in their policies, providing they are in compliance with the health insurance legislation. VHI Healthcare adjudicates claims based on the information submitted to it by the hospital and the consultants responsible for the treatment carried out. Benefit is paid for claims in accordance with the terms and conditions of a customer's policy.
I understand that the customer in question has taken his complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman's Bureau for an independent adjudication of his case, which is the appropriate office to deal with this matter.
635. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health the time frame for a second palliative care consultant for the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar in County Westmeath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11548/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on the matter. 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.
636. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 389 of 17 February 2015, if he will review the reply in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry who is waiting to receive an appointment for an eye operation in the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital Cork in view of new information provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11551/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraYou will appreciate that it is contrary to the Health Service Executive (Governance) Act 2013 for me to make a direction to the HSE or a hospital to benefit or prioritise any individual person or patient.
The scheduling of appointments for patients is a matter for the hospital to which the patient has been referred. Should a patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he or she should take the matter up with the consultant and the hospital involved. In relation to the specific case raised, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
637. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the Old Dingle Hospital in County Kerry; the steps required for the ownership of the building to be transferred to a different Government entity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11552/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe management of the health property portfolio is a service matter. Therefore your question 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 who will follow up.
638. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the drug Lemtrada; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11560/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe prescribing of medications for patients is a matter for the relevant treating clinician. As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
639. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be called for examination for the purposes of obtaining a primary medical certificate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11574/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, he can contact my Private Office and they will follow the matter up with the HSE.
640. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an appointment in Cork University Hospital in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11577/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe scheduling of appointments for patients is a matter for the hospital to which the patient has been referred. Should a patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he or she should take the matter up with the consultant and the hospital involved. In relation to the specific case raised, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
