Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:171. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to set out the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21773/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraHospital Appointments Status
Ceisteanna (171)
Freagraí scríofa
Under 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 HSE, 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 the Deputy directly.
Disease Management
Ceisteanna (172, 173)
Róisín Shortall
Ceist:172. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health to outline the steps he is taking to meet Ireland's pledge to eliminate hepatitis C as part of the World Health Organization programme; the progress that has been made to date; the reason a new national strategy has not been developed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21788/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraRóisín Shortall
Ceist:173. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if funding can be made available as part of the hepatitis C elimination programme to allow for schemes to reach high-risk populations to be put on a secure financial footing beyond pilot studies to continue their work; his plans for a scoping exercise to ascertain the service needs within existing programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21789/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 172 and 173 together.
Ireland is committed to the WHO target of eliminating hepatitis C, including making it a rare disease by 2030.
In 2015, the National Hepatitis C Treatment Programme (NHCTP) was established as a multi-annual public health plan. It aims to provide treatment over the coming years, across a range of healthcare settings, to all persons living with hepatitis C in Ireland.
The Programme Advisory Group provides oversight, advice, assurances and strategic direction to the Programme. The group involves key stakeholders to ensure successful implementation of the multi-annual public health plan for the treatment of hepatitis C in Ireland over the coming years. In order to achieve this, the Programme has been allocated funding of €30m each year since 2015.
The Programme is also supported by a Clinical Advisory Group (CAG), which provides oversight and direction for decisions on clinical prioritisation and selection of appropriate drug treatment regimens. The CAG includes healthcare professionals across a number of disciplines involved in the delivery of care to patients with hepatitis C.
The NHCTP has provided treatment to more than 2000 patients in the hospital setting since 2015. Access to treatment is currently open to all patients clinically prioritised, with no restrictions on availability. The programme aims to treat 1500-1800 patients in 2018.
In 2016, the NHCTP established a steering group which developed an integrated model of care for treatment across hospital and community services. In June 2017, for the initial phase of integrating hepatitis C treatment into community settings, the HSE began pilot treatment sites in 2 drug treatment centres in Dublin. These pilot sites support provision of treatment for patients who find it difficult to engage with the hospital based service.
The NHCTP is continuing to monitor and evaluate these pilot programmes, to assess the suitability, feasibility, and sustainability of providing hepatitis C treatment in these settings on a larger scale. It is understood that the HSE is developing plans for more sites in 2018, including prison and homeless services, in addition to developing existing shared care models currently being rolled out at St Vincent’s University Hospital.
The HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre, in collaboration with the National Clinical Effectiveness Committee (NCEC) of the Department of Health, published national clinical guidelines for hepatitis C screening in July 2017.
The aim of the guidelines are to reduce the overall health and economic impact of hepatitis C infection and to contribute to the elimination of the virus as a public health concern in Ireland by 2030, by enhancing and further improving the screening of those at risk.
The HSE National Service Plan for 2018 is committed to the continued development of integrated care models for hepatitis C treatment, in community and acute settings, and to the national clinical guidelines on hepatitis C screening.
Home Help Service Eligibility
Ceisteanna (174)
Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:174. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to outline the status of home-help hours for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21791/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Hospital Appointments Status
Ceisteanna (175)
Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:175. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to outline the status of an operation for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21792/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Under 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 HSE, 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 the Deputy directly.
Hospital Staff Recruitment
Ceisteanna (176)
Charlie McConalogue
Ceist:176. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Health to outline his plans to appoint a lymphedema nurse to Letterkenny General Hospital (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21793/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service issue, I have asked the HSE to reply to you directly.
Cancer Screening Programmes
Ceisteanna (177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182)
Bríd Smith
Ceist:177. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health to set out in tabular form the detection rates of pre-cancerous abnormal cells discovered by each of the four laboratories contracted to conduct the cervical screening tests (details supplied) since 2008 for each of the laboratories concerned. [21805/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraBríd Smith
Ceist:178. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health to provide details on the reports and studies relied on by his Department in 2008 and subsequently to support the decision to outsource the cervical screening programme. [21806/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraBríd Smith
Ceist:179. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health to outline the submissions made by laboratories tendering for contracts for the cervical screening programme in 2008 and on subsequent occasions. [21807/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraBríd Smith
Ceist:180. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if the 2014 and subsequent audits commissioned by CervicalCheck were part of the laboratory quality assurance process; and the details of such audits. [21808/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraBríd Smith
Ceist:181. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if the screening test conducted in US laboratories is conducted in the same manner as those done in laboratories here; and if all smears are separately screened by two independent medical scientists who are trained as cytologists. [21809/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraBríd Smith
Ceist:182. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if the staff conducting smear testing in laboratories outside of the State are qualified to the same standard as those conducting the tests here, that is, if they are medical scientists and pathologists with specific qualifications and training similar to that required to operate here. [21810/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 177 to 182, inclusive, together.
All laboratories contracted by CervicalCheck meet the programme’s standards and have ISO accreditation, certified by the relevant national authorities. The laboratories undergo annual certification or surveillance audits from the relevant national certification body for their continuing accreditation.
CervicalCheck monitors and reviews a number of criteria in relation to laboratory performance including volumes, sources of tests, turnaround times, recommendations assigned to results, screener sensitivity and workload metrics, external quality assurance and positive predictive values.
Other aspects of the issues raised relate to matters that are now the subject of a Scoping Inquiry that I established on 8th May 2018. The Terms of Reference of the Scoping Inquiry, which is being led by Dr Gabriel Scally, are very comprehensive and include the following:
- examine all aspects of CervicalCheck.
- examine the tendering, contracting, operation, conflict of interest arrangements, performance information and performance management, accreditation and quality assurance of contracted cytology laboratory services by CervicalCheck from initiation of the programme.