Written Answers Nos. 839-857
839. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health his plans to increase the number of Health Service Executive marriage solemnisers, in view of the approval of the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Act 2015. [22200/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra840. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health subject to full discussions and approval from the solemnisers and their trade unions, his plans to increase the availability of Health Service Executive marriage solemnisers at weekends. [22201/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 839 and 840 together.
I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on these matters. 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.
841. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will report on the Health Service Executive offering dental grants to travel to Northern Ireland (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22214/15]
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.
842. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health if there are funding streams available to an organisation (details supplied) in County Cork for providing services that are ancillary to its core function; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22229/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe provision of crisis pregnancy services is the responsibility of the Health Service Executive and as such, I have referred this question to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply. 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.
843. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health the update on the review of Lantern Lodge day care centre, New Road, Killarney, County Kerry, as residents are worried and concerned regarding any proposed downgrading, as this centre provides quality support and is also vital as a drop-in centre to its clients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22230/15]
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.
844. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Health if the Health Service Executive keeps a record of the total number of denial of liability letters and notes issued by nurses in acute hospitals to hospital management; if not, why not; if so, if he will provide, in tabular form, for every acute hospital and for each month from January 2014 to May 2015, inclusive, the total number of such letters or notes received by management in hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22234/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to thank the Deputy for the matter raised.
Given that this is an operational matter, it is appropriate that it should be dealt with by the HSE. Therefore, I have referred the Deputy's question to the HSE for attention and 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.
846. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of persons waiting for their first appointments for talk therapies, for example, psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioural therapy, counselling or counselling psychology approaches and so on, for zero to three months, three to six months, six to nine months, nine to 12 months, 12 to 18 months, 18 to 24 months, and more than 24 months, detailed in separate tables, the national figures, and then one for each Health Service Executive administrative area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22236/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraCounselling is provided across the health service, by both the HSE and the voluntary sector including primary care, social care and within mental health. This type of service can be provided by a range of trained health professionals and delivered to meet a clinical need at either primary or secondary care level.
The Counselling in Primary Care (CIPC) service is a national service funded from the Programme for Government investment in Mental Health, to increase the access to counselling and psychotherapy and supplementing existing services provided by Primary Care. Within the specialist secondary care mental health service counselling and psychotherapy is provided within community mental health teams when service users are clinically assessed as requiring this intervention and is provided by a health professional on the team. Counselling is also provided by a range of voluntary organisations across the health service and HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention funds voluntary organisations such as Pieta House and Console to provide support across a range of needs.
The provision of a quality counselling service across both primary and secondary care will be developed further, as resources permit. In the first instance however, the HSE Mental Health Division must ensure that the funding currently allocated to CIPC is being used to best effect, to deliver the best outcomes. In this regard, I note the commitment in the HSE National Service Plan for 2015 to “Reviewing and improving access to psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic interventions in conjunction with the Primary Care Division” as a first step to further consolidate and direct counselling services generally.
In relation to the specific information requested by the Deputy, as this is a service issue this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy. 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.
847. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details of any outreach programme operated by the hospitals in County Cork, whereby a member calls to a person in the city or county who may be suicidal; if he will outline any future plan for the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22239/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince the advent of the Self Harm Clinical Programme in early December 2014, many Emergency Departments have had assigned to them a self-harm nurse at Clinical Nurse Specialist level. These Clinical Nurse Specialists in psychiatry work in Emergency Departments to provide a more rapid response to those who present with episodes of self-harm. Twenty four of the thirty five nurses approved for this programme have been recruited and are deployed in a number of hospitals. Each nurse is trained in the biopsychosocial assessment of people who self-harm and following such an assessment a care plan is drawn up involving the person and their next of kin (if they consent). Each person is offered whatever support and care is clinically appropriate thereafter. This might include referral to a voluntary agency specialising in the care of people with suicidal ideation or self-harm, referral to the primary care psychology services and or to the local Community Mental Health Team. As part of this Programme, clinical activity is being collected and it is hoped that if this intervention has a good outcome it may be possible to extend the hours and days of working to ensure a more comprehensive response within Emergency Departments.
In relation to the provision of an outreach programme operated by the hospitals in Cork, as 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.
848. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Health the average waiting time, mean and median, for an orthopaedic inpatient treatment in the Saolta University Health Care Group; if he will confirm if the Saolta University Health Care Group has the necessary specialist personnel required to carry out orthopaedic spinal surgery; if not, when will this situation be rectified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22241/15]
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.
849. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Health the protocols and access policy in place to ensure that oncology patients at Mayo General Hospital can access appropriate treatment by a specialist oncology team in a timely manner at University Hospital Galway, and are not at a disadvantage because of their geography compared with Galway patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22242/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraReferral guidelines and standardised referral forms have been developed by the HSE-National Cancer Control Programme and these are used for referral to breast, lung and prostate rapid access clinics throughout the country, including Galway University Hospital. The guidelines were drawn up in association with the Irish College of General Practitioners.
Access to designated cancer centres is based on clinical need. Diagnostic and cancer staging investigations, day care chemotherapy and follow-up care are delivered as close as possible to the patient’s home.
850. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Galway who has been on the waiting list since 6 March 2015 and is suffering considerable continuous pain can expect to receive an appointment for an MRI scan, necessary to determine the cause of the person's condition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22243/15]
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.
851. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health in the case of the nursing homes support scheme, if it is possible for a person in receipt of support under the scheme to apply for a deferral ancillary State support in respect of the liability relating to the family home after paying the liability for the first year; if he will outline the procedure involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22247/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS) is a scheme of financial support for people who need long-term nursing home care. Under the NHSS people make a contribution towards the cost of their care and the State pays the balance - this is known as State Support.
Where a person's assets include land and property in the State, the contribution based on such assets may be deferred. It will ultimately fall due for repayment upon a person's death. A person may choose to apply for this element of the Scheme at the date of initial application or at any stage while resident in the nursing home.
852. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Health if he will introduce legislation to regulate the counselling and psychotherapy sector to ensure that all regulated practitioners would be educated to at least degree level, level 8 according to the QQl, and that suitably qualified practitioners are part of a register that is administered by an independent regulator, for example, CORU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22248/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraPsychotherapists and counsellors are not currently regulated under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005. However, the Act provides that the Minister for Health may, under section 4(2), designate a health and social care profession not already designated if he or she considers that it is in the public interest to do so and if specified criteria have been met.
My predecessor, Minister James Reilly T.D, wrote to the The Health and Social Care Professionals Council last year seeking advice on the question of specifically designating counsellors and psychotherapists under the 2005 Act.
A number of issues require clarification and there are varying views among the professional bodies representing counsellors and psychotherapists in Ireland. The main questions to be resolved include whether counselling and psychotherapy should be treated as one or two professions for the purposes of regulation, the title or titles of the profession(s) to be protected, and the minimum qualifications that would be required of applicants for registration. The readiness and compatibility of the professions for designation under the 2005 Act also need to be determined.
The Council's detailed report on the matter has now been received and is being carefully examined in the Department. The matter remains at an early stage of consideration and consultation with industry professionals and other stakeholders will be considered in due course.
This answer should in some way go towards clarifying the question for the Deputy.
856. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will receive an appointment for a hip and knee operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22256/15]
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 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.
857. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence received regarding adult day placement in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22259/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the 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.
