Written Answers Nos. 914-933
914. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Health when a decision will issue from the HSE national steering committee on funding for the new pathology department premises as per the blood sciences submission (details supplied) by University Hospital Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35747/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to the specific issue raised, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
915. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the number of persons awaiting admission to the Central Mental Hospital; and if the referrals were from the courts, Prison Service or approved centres in each of the years 2013 to 2016 and to date in 2017, in tabular form. [35753/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
916. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the number of persons awaiting admission to the Central Mental Hospital in each of the years 2013 to 2016 and to date in 2017, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35754/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
917. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the funding received by the Central Mental Hospital in each of the years 2013 to 2016 and to date in 2017, in tabular form. [35755/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
918. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the number of neurologists employed by the HSE; and the number of vacant posts for neurologists. [35757/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter.
919. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health his plans to facilitate or support discussions between neurologists regarding the use of Epidiolex; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35758/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra920. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health his plans to facilitate or support discussions between neurologists regarding an alternative to prescribing Epidiolex. [35759/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 919 and 920 together.
Epidiolex is a proprietary oral solution of plant-derived cannabidiol, or CBD, currently in phase III clinical trials. According to the manufacturer’s website “Epidiolex development is initially concentrating on severe, orphan, early-onset, treatment-resistant epilepsy syndromes including Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) and Infantile Spasms (IS)”.
Under European and Irish legislation, before a medicine can be placed on the market the manufacturer must seek an authorisation from the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), or in the case of certain medicines, the European Medicines Agency (EMA). To my knowledge, no application for a marketing authorisation for Epidiolex has yet been submitted by the product manufacturer GW Pharmaceuticals to either the HPRA or the EMA.
In February I published the HPRA report ‘Cannabis for Medical Use - A Scientific Review’, on foot of which I committed to the implementation of a Cannabis for Medical Use Access Programme, in line with the HPRA’s recommendations. In March I established the Cannabis for Medical Use Expert Reference Group to advise on the development of the Access Programme. The Expert Group is chaired by Dr Máirín Ryan, Director of Health Technology Assessment at the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), and comprises representation from the areas of oncology, palliative care, anaesthesiology, general practice, adult neurology, paediatric neurology, multiple sclerosis, psychiatry, pharmacy, patients, and ethics as well as representatives from HIQA’s Health Technology Assessment Directorate, the HPRA, the National Medicines Information Centre and the Department of Health.
The Expert Group is tasked with the development of operational guidance for healthcare professionals treating patients through the Access Programme. A critical requirement for the successful establishment of a Cannabis for Medical Use Access Programme is meaningful engagement with representative bodies, clinicians, patients, and pharmacists so that these groups are integral to the drafting of operational clinical guidance.
The draft Clinical Guidance on the Medical Use of Cannabis developed by the Expert Group is out for consultation. The clinical guidance will include the forms of medicinal cannabis that will be permitted for use under the access programme and will outline the requirements for education of healthcare professionals and patients, as well as ethical implications of such a scheme. The systematic process employed to develop this guidance is based on the National Standards for Clinical Practice Guidance Development. This work will take a number of months to complete.
It is important to draw the Deputy’s attention to the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland (RCPI) statement, released in March 2017, on the use of cannabis products in the treatment of severe epilepsy in children and adults. In this statement the consultants involved in the treatment of epilepsy state that "currently the main barrier to the prescribing of cannabis derivatives for epilepsy is the lack of clinical evidence of its long-term efficacy, as well as lack of data on long-term side effects.” The position of the RCPI further demonstrates the importance of any discussions relating to a patient’s care being conducted in the clinical setting in consultation with the expert clinicians, the patient and their family.
It is the professional decision of the clinician, in consultation with their patient, to prescribe or not prescribe any particular treatment for a patient under their care. The independence of the doctor-patient relationship is a fundamental principle upon which medical practice is based. As Minister for Health I have no role in the professional clinical decision-making process.
921. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health the status of the provision of Respreeza; if he will respond to an organisation (details supplied) within the four weeks committed to at the Oireachtas health committee on 12 July 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35760/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicines under the community drug schemes, in accordance with the provisions of the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for reply to the Deputy.
922. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the cost for each mental health tribunal in each of the years 2014 to 2016 and to date in 2017, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35761/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Mental Health Commission to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
923. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the number of the 96 consultant psychiatrists on a panel to provide membership of a mental health tribunal who are also employed or who were ever employed by the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35762/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Mental Health Commission to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
924. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the details of the 79 other persons on a panel to provide the membership of a mental health tribunal; the professional title of each; the details of their employer; and the capacity and role for being included on the panel. [35763/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Mental Health Commission to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
925. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the other legal costs arising out of mental health tribunals reported by the Mental Health Commission which were €40,978 in 2014 and €73,975 in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35764/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Mental Health Commission to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
926. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the legal fees of the general expenses accounts of the Mental Health Commission spent in each of the years 2014 to 2016 and to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35765/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Mental Health Commission to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
927. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the IT technical support and IT developmental costs of the general expenses accounts of the Mental Health Commission; and the way in which they were spent in each of the years 2014 to 2016 and to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35766/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Mental Health Commission to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
928. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the number of full and part-time recruitments that took place within the Mental Health Commission in each of the years 2014 to 2016 and to date in 2017; the positions recruited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35767/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Mental Health Commission to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
929. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the cost of mental health tribunals in each of the years 2014 to 2016 and to date in 2017; and the fees charged by professionals who took part. [35768/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Mental Health Commission to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
930. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for Health the number of persons whose elective surgery was cancelled or rescheduled more than once in 2016 and to date in 2017 at University Hospital Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35769/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to the specific issue raised, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.
931. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the portion of funding allocated for mental health which was transferred to pay for general HSE overrun in each of the years 2011 to 2016 and to date in 2017, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35770/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
933. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health the amount spent on agency and overtime staff in the mental health services by hospital and discipline in 2016 and to date in 2017, in tabular form. [35772/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
