Written Answers Nos. 692-709
692. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health the post-operative care available to children with selective dorsal rhizotomy; the financial support from the Health Service Executive towards after-care; and if operations and after-care are covered by the executive under the treatment abroad scheme. [20388/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the particular issue raised by the Deputy relates to an individual case, this is a service matter for the Health Service Executive. Accordingly, I have arranged for the question to be 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.
693. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo, who needs to be transferred to University Hospital Galway as the hospital he is in at present is not in a position to treat his illness, has yet to be transferred; the reason for the delay with this transfer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20396/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual. 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.
694. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the current status of the national recruitment service recruitment of a senior audiologist for County Roscommon; when this post will be filled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20410/15]
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.
695. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will examine the situation of the under-supply of respite beds for those with dementia, as over 30,000 persons have dementia and there are 66 respite beds available across 54 specialist care units in nursing homes, which equates to just one respite bed for 450 persons with dementia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20415/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraA priority action for the National Dementia Strategy is that the Health Service Executive will consider how best to configure resources currently invested in home care packages and respite care so as to facilitate people with dementia to continue living in their own homes and communities for as long as possible and to improve the supports available for carers.
A Single Assessment Tool for older people is also being developed by the HSE to assess need and allocate services and supports in the most effective way possible. The Single Assessment Tool will include provision for assessment of the needs of carers as well as the needs of those with dementia being cared for.
In relation to the specific queries raised by the Deputy, as these are service issues, they have been referred to the HSE for direct reply. 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 up the matter with the HSE.
696. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health his plans for the transposition of the European Union tobacco products directive; the proposed legislative timeframe for this; if it is still possible for the legislation to be enacted in order to meet the May 2016 deadline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20425/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe new Tobacco Products Directive came into force in May 2014 following approval by the European Parliament. Member States have two years to transpose the Directive into national law. The revised Directive regulates a number of aspects of tobacco products and e-cigarettes, including labelling and packaging, ingredients and emissions, traceability and security features. My Department is working in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General to put measures in place to transpose the Directive into Irish law by the 20th May 2016 deadline.
697. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health his views on claims made by parents of babies who died at the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise, County Laois, at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children on 19 May 2015 that the director general of the Health Service Executive is misinforming the public about these events, that the executive management team is clearly incapable and cannot be trusted to implement this or previous Health Information and Quality Authority reports, and that the executive covered up warning signs regarding baby deaths at the hospital. [20429/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have fully accepted the recommendations contained in the recent HIQA Report into Portlaoise Hospital. Since the publication of the Chief Medical Officer’s Report on Portlaoise last year, much has been done to strengthen services in the hospital, and HIQA has acknowledged this. New management is in place, with significantly improved clinical governance and additional key clinical staff have been appointed.
Portlaoise Hospital is now part of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group and the Government is committed to securing and further developing the role of the Hospital. Any change to its services will be undertaken in a planned and orderly manner guided by what is best in terms of patient safety and outcomes. It is not appropriate to comment further at this time, other than to note that a number of staff have had complaints made to their professional regulatory bodies, in relation to their involvement in care in Portlaoise. These will be investigated in line with standard procedures and due process will apply. In addition, the HSE is finalising an investigation, in line with its Code of Governance and Disciplinary Procedures, which may result in disciplinary action being taken against individuals involved.
I have made enforcement of the implementation of HIQA recommendations a clear priority within the priorities I outlined earlier this year. Informed by the recommendations contained in the published HIQA investigation reports on various hospital services and based on analysis and internal discussions on patient safety priorities, I have come to the conclusion that providing a national focus for patient safety is best achieved by strengthening the patient safety role and functions of my Department. I intend to develop a significantly enhanced patient safety function within my Department with a clear mandate to provide the required leadership, direction and oversight for national improvements in patient safety, clinical effectiveness and patient experience. The policy oversight for this function will be integrated within the existing system of accountability which operates through me as Minister for Health.
The Authority's Report further recommends that I should establish an oversight committee in the Department to ensure that the Portlaoise Report's recommendations are implemented. I have approved the membership, terms of reference and reporting arrangements of the committee which will be chaired by the Chief Medical Officer. The HSE will submit a plan and timetable to implement the recommendations; this plan will be used by the oversight committee to monitor the HSE's progress on implementation.
Finally, I plan to establish a fully independent national advocacy service. The scope, role and functions of the independent advocacy service will be considered along with the appropriate structural, governance and funding arrangements that need to be put in place. My Department will be consulting widely on the best way to get the service up and running in the shortest possible timeframe.
698. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details of all official foreign trips he and Ministers of State in his Department plan to take between now and the end of 2015; if he will provide details of whom he and the Ministers of State in his Department will be meeting on these trips; the purpose of these trips; the duration of these trips; his plans to use all of these trips to promote Ireland as a good place for doing business and as a destination for foreign direct investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20442/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUp to end-2015, I am currently scheduled to attend one meeting abroad: the EPSCO Council meeting in Luxembourg on 19 June.
Up to end-2015, Minister Lynch is currently scheduled to attend one meeting abroad: to address the Beit Issie Shapiro Sixth International Conference on Disabilities in Tel Aviv, from 5-9 July, as well as visit disability NGOs in Israel and Palestine.
Minister Ó Ríordáin is not currently scheduled to attend any meetings abroad, related to his brief in this Department.
Along with Ministers Lynch and Ó Ríordáin, I will continue to promote Ireland as a good place for doing business and we will take every opportunity to encourage direct foreign investment, both at home and abroad.
700. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the reason the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise, County Laois, has been designated as a model 3 hospital; his views on the Health Information and Quality Authority’s assertion that the hospital has not been resourced to safely provide services at a level that would be expected of a model 3 hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20456/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraPortlaoise Hospital currently provides the range of acute services of a Model 3 hospital. Reviews of services at the hospital point to the need for reconfiguration of some services, to ensure that patients are treated in the most appropriate setting by specialist staff that can meet their needs.
The future of the hospital is as a constituent hospital within the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. That Group also includes St James's; Tallaght; Tullamore; Naas and the Coombe Hospitals. Any change to services at Portlaoise Hospital will be undertaken in a planned and orderly manner. This will be guided by what is best in terms of patient safety and outcomes and will take account of existing patient flows, demands in other hospitals and the need to develop particular services at Portlaoise in the context of overall service reorganisation in the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. The timing and scope of such changes will have regard for the capacity and capability of other services within the Group particularly in the short term. This work will be overseen by the Joint Steering Group comprised of representatives from Portlaoise and other hospitals in the Group, including the Group CEO, Dr. Susan O’Reilly.
In relation to resources, the 2015 allocation for Portlaoise is €49.7m. Funding levels for hospitals are determined and set out in the HSE Annual Service Plan within the context of total funding provided to the HSE. Hospital funding is not framed or specifically determined by categorisation or designation but rather is based on the range and complexity of services provided by each hospital and by their level of activity. Activity Based Funding (ABF) is a new model for funding public hospital care. ABF is intended to ensure a fairer system of resource allocation to hospitals. Hospitals will be funded based on the quantity and quality of the services they deliver to patients, and will be encouraged, subject to overall budgetary ceilings, to pursue the most cost-effective means of achieving this standard of performance. Full roll-out of ABF is a multi-year project and a phased approach to implementation is being taken in order to ensure operational stability in hospitals.
701. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health his plans to establish a database for children born with Down's syndrome; if consideration has been given to the benefit which such information gathering could potentially yield, particularly for the planning of both health and educational services, by providing information on trends in demographics, current service use and future service need; if he is aware of the great difficulty which the current absence of such a database creates with regard to adequate service provision and future planning; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20465/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Minister for Health has no plans to establish a database for children born with the condition Down Syndrome.
In planning for the delivery of intellectual disability services, the Health Service Executive (HSE) and disability service providers maintain the National Intellectual Disability Database (NIDD). The NIDD, established in 1995, provides a comprehensive database for decision-making in relation to the planning, funding and management of services for people with an intellectual disability. It provides a set of information which outlines the specialised health services currently used or needed by people with an intellectual disability. Participation in the database is voluntary and not every individual in Ireland with an intellectual disability is availing of or requiring a specialised disability health and personal social service. Individuals are registered on the database according to the degree of their intellectual disability, as specialised disability services are provided on the basis of an individual assessment of need.
702. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Health the reason some general practitioners are charging medical card patients €20 for letters in support of applications for payments such as carer's allowance, disability allowance and so on; his views that this is acceptable; if he will instruct general practitioners to end this practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20466/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the General Medical Services (GMS) contract, a general practitioner (GP) is expected to provide his/her patients who hold a medical card or GP visit card with all proper and necessary treatment of a kind generally undertaken by a GP.
The contract between the HSE and GPs under the GMS Scheme stipulates that fees are not paid to GPs by the HSE in respect of certain medical certificates which may be required, for example, "under the Social Welfare Acts or for the purposes of insurance or assurance policies or for the issue of driving licences".
Consultation fees charged by general practitioners to private patients and to GMS patients outside the terms of the GMS contract are a matter of private contract between the clinicians and the patients. While I have no role in relation to such fees, I would expect clinicians to have regard to the overall economic situation in setting their fees.
703. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health the waiting times in counties Laois and Offaly for a hearing aid; his plans to recruit another audiologist for these counties in view of the fact they are sharing one chief audiologist at present. [20467/15]
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.
704. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his views on the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry who is waiting for a cataract operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20472/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual. I understand that the HSE wrote to the Deputy on 17 April last about this matter.
I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy regarding his further query in this matter. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, he should contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
706. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a secure independent placement in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20502/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service issue this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply. If you have not received a reply within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
707. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the after-care services and the position regarding secure independent placement for mental health patients (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20503/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service issue this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply. If you have not received a reply within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
709. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if he will provide the full rules governing the retention of a medical card when a person is returning to work; if the right of retention applies to other persons in the family who were awarded the card on the basis of household income; the changes that have been made to the rules for this scheme in recent years; and the dates of any such rule changes. [20511/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn certain circumstances, people who have been in receipt of Social Welfare payments for specified times and who return to work or avail of Government approved schemes are allowed retain their medical card for specified periods.
As this service is operated by the Health Service Executive, they have been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
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.
