Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 May 2018
337. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Health if adding chartered physiotherapists to the list of practitioners entitled to order X-ray examinations will be considered in regard to the transposition of an EU directive (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22050/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraEU Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom defines referrer with certain roles and responsibilities attaching to same. Member States are required to designate health professionals as referrers as appropriate.
The statutory instrument transposing the Directive will designate those who may refer for radiological tests and in this regard I propose to designate nurses, doctors, dentists and radiographers as appropriate. Physiotherapists are not designated as referrers in the current regulations (S.I. 478/2002) and it is not proposed to designate them in the new regulations.
In November 2017, I launched Working Together for Health: A National Strategic Framework for Health and Social Care Workforce Planning. Underpinned by a core set of principles, the framework is intended to support the recruitment and retention of the right mix of health workers across the health system to meet planned and projected service need. Implementing the framework will be a multi-annual undertaking and it is envisaged that, in due course, matters relating to health and social care professionals, including scope of practice, will be considered and addressed through the framework structures currently being established.
