Written Answers Nos. 663-682
663. Deputy Anthony Lawlor asked the Minister for Health the total number of children with rheumatology conditions currently waiting for physiotherapy services in the Kildare and west Wicklow area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21395/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive (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.
664. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a claim under the national repayment scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21396/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service issue this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply. If a reply has not been issued within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
665. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the outcome of recent mediation talks which have taken place between the Health Service Executive, the company which operates the NoWDOC general practitioner service and representatives of general practitioners, regarding proposals to alter the existing out-of-hour service; the HSE position with regards to any such proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21397/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra666. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the most recent proposals which have been submitted to the Health Service Executive for consideration by the company which operates the NoWDOC out-of-hour general practitioner service; if these proposals advocate for a reduction to the current service provided; if such a submission proposes to alter the existing general practitioner rota; if he will provide a copy of any such altered rotas proposed for each of the existing NoWDOC centres; if he is aware of the serious impact a reduction to service would have on patient care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21398/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 665 and 666 together.
As these are service issues, they have been referred to the Health Service Executive (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.
667. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the exclusivity agreement currently in place between the Health Service Executive and a recruitment company (details supplied); if the company is unable to provide 100% of agency nurses, if other agencies are allowed help provide the necessary numbers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21401/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this 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.
668. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of reducing the current €144 maximum monthly threshold of the drug payments scheme in €10 intervals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21404/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the administration of the primary care schemes, including the Drugs Payment Scheme; therefore the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to you.
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.
669. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health the level of estimated savings targeted on each occasion that the maximum monthly threshold of the drug payments scheme was increased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21405/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince 2010 the Drugs Payment Scheme threshold has been increased on three occasions in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
The estimated savings that were targeted on each occasion are outlined in the table.
|
Year |
Threshold Change |
Estimated Targeted Savings |
|
2010 |
€100 to €120 |
€27 million |
|
2012 |
€120 to €132 |
€12 million |
|
2013 |
€132 to €144 |
€10 million |
670. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 315 of 19 May 2015, the total value of the estimated gap between the current per diem charges referred to and the recovery of full economic cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21406/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs set out in my previous reply, Government policy has been to move towards charging the full economic cost for the provision of private acute in-patient services. Persons who opt to be treated on a private basis on admission to hospital are liable for the fees of all consultants involved in his or her care and for hospital charges under Section 55 for that episode of care. Those charges are a per diem rate set out in the 2013 legislation and were informed by overall cost of the provision of the private in-patient services and the policy of moving towards the recovery of full economic cost, but they are not directly related to the cost of specific treatments provided to individual private patients, the level of complexity of a case or the costs of individual hospitals.
The issue of hospital financing has been the subject of recent Departmental reports. In the case of public acute hospital care, a prospective, casemix-adjusted activity based system was recommended. It has been recommended that the existing ‘per diem’ charging regime for private activity in public hospitals be replaced by a case-based charge using DRGs. Taking account of international evidence and of the detailed analysis already undertaken in the context of the above reports it was advised that the Programme for Government commitment on ‘Money Follows the Patient’ should be realised through the introduction of a prospective Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) case-based payment system. Since January, 2014 the Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) grouping system has been used to facilitate the introduction of a new prospective, case-based funding model for public hospital care called Activity Based Funding (ABF - also known as Money Follows the Patient).
Activity Based Funding is being rolled-out on a phased basis and full implementation will take a number of years. The ABF approach is initially being applied to in-patient and daycase activity in public hospitals. It is the Government’s intention to develop policy proposals for the introduction of a case-based charging system for private patients in public hospitals. However, it must be acknowledged that given the complexity and breadth of the issues to be examined and addressed, significant preparatory policy work must be undertaken. This work must take full account of eligibility and legal issues, private income issues and the need for a sustainable mechanism for meeting the cost of private patients in public hospitals. It would require substantial technical work and analysis on the financial impact on public hospitals. The focus for the short to medium term is on implementing ABF in the public system, as outlined in the recently launched HSE ABF Implementation Plan 2015-2017. Until this further work has been completed it will not be possible to present the Deputy with the figure requested.
671. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 324 of 19 May 2015, the estimated number of patients who will benefit from the diabetes cycle of care, which is to cost an estimated €4.5 million in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21407/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive (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.
672. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details of hospital managers and directors of services in the Health Service Executive who also sell services to the HSE while remaining employees; if there will be a conflict of interest in view of the fact that managers and directors of the HSE who offer such training courses are also paid employees of the service; the number of former employees who have been rehired, contrary to the rules of the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21420/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this 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 with them.
673. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Offaly will receive an appointment for an MRI scan at the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore, County Offaly. [21423/15]
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.
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.
674. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Offaly will receive an appointment in the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin 2. [21424/15]
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.
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.
675. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Health when funding for a wheelchair will be allocated in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21447/15]
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.
676. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the position regarding respite care services in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21455/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra685. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health his views on respite care services being cut at Saint Michael's House in Dublin; if he will reverse this proposal, as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21547/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 676 and 685 together.
The vision for the Health Service Executive's (HSE) Disability Services Programme is to contribute to the realisation of a society where people with disabilities are supported, as far as possible, to participate to their full potential in economic and social life, and have access to a range of quality personal social supports and services including respite care to enhance their quality of life.
Respite care for children and adults with disabilities is provided by the HSE directly in some instances, or by agencies funded by the HSE to provide services on its behalf. In many instances respite services are part of the overall suite of services provided by voluntary service providers to people with disabilities under their service level agreements with the HSE. The HSE remains committed to working with all voluntary disability service providers to ensure that all of the resources available for specialist disability services, including respite services, are used in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
The HSE’s Social Care Operational Plan for 2015 aims to provide 190,000 overnight stays in centre-based respite services to almost 5,300 people. The HSE is also committed to continuing to explore methods of community respite care as an alternative to centre-based respite care, including advancing the Host Family Support Model.
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.
677. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Health the reasons for the long delays in receiving patients' biopsy reports from the dermatology unit in Galway University Hospital; if this delay is due to a shortage of pathologists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21474/15]
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.
678. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Health the eligibility status after 31 July 2015 of the discretionary medical card holders whose discretionary medical cards were lost between July 2011 and May 2014 and for whom they were not re-instated until 31 July 2015, following a Government decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21487/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraPersons with a serious medical condition or disability, who had the renewal of their discretionary card refused by the HSE, having completed an eligibility review during the period from 1 July 2011 to 31 May 2014, had their cards reissued to July 2015. These persons were reassured that they would retain their card pending implementation of the actions to improve the operation of the scheme which built on the recommendations in the Report of the Expert Panel on Medical Need for Medical Card Eligibility and the Medical Card Process Review in November 2014.
The Minister for Health and I have considered this matter and we believe that there is a need for further implementation of the various actions and improvements identified. As a result, we agreed that the temporary reinstatement of these discretionary cards should be extended by a further 12 months, expiring end-July 2016 and the HSE has been advised accordingly.
679. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health the referral criteria in place for paediatric selective dorsal rhizotomy in hospitals; the rationale provided for same; if there is a national guideline regarding magnetic resonance imaging age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21496/15]
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.
680. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the difference between a minor injury unit and an urgent care centre; if he will provide the locations of minor injury units, medical assessment units and urgent care centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21503/15]
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.
681. Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Minister for Health the Health Service Executive's plans for lands in Ratoath, County Meath, purchased to build a medical centre on ten years ago; the timeframe for development or disposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21509/15]
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.
682. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health his Department's targets for child and adolescent mental health services appointment waiting times; the estimated cost of ending the placement of children in adult in-patient facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21511/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThese issues raised by the Deputy are outlined in the HSE Service Plan 2015. I am therefore referring your question 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.
