Written Answers Nos. 420-440
420. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Health if it is Health Service Executive, HSE, policy that a person with an alcohol or substance addiction and a mental health diagnosis cannot be admitted to a mental health facility; and the location of the appropriate service for such persons. [37156/18]
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.
423. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the progress to date in the determination of an application for a medical card in the case of a person (details supplied); if all required documentation has been received; when the application is likely to be brought to a conclusion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37164/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been forwarded to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.
424. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health when a child (details supplied) can expect to be assessed by a Health Service Executive, HSE, early intervention team; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37166/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities which will empower them to live independent lives, provide greater independence in accessing the services they choose, and enhance their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their needs and plan their lives. This commitment is outlined in the Programme for Partnership Government, which is guided by two principles: equality of opportunity and improving the quality of life for people with disabilities.
As the Deputy's question relates to an individual case, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy.
425. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Health when funding will be made available for the endoscopy and rehabilitation and stroke units in Bantry General Hospital in circumstances in which both projects have been approved by the Health Service Executive's capital projects committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37167/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly in relation to this matter.
426. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health when he will sign the commencement order for all of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and deprecation of liberty safeguards. [37172/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act provides a modern statutory framework to support decision-making by adults with capacity difficulties. The commencement of the greater part of this Act is the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Justice and Equality.
The commencement of Part 8 of the Act, which provides a legislative framework for advance healthcare directives (AHDs) is a matter for my Department. An AHD is a statement made by a person with capacity setting out his or her will and preferences regarding treatment decisions that may arise in the future when he or she no longer has capacity.
Under section 91 of the Act, the Minister for Health is responsible for the establishment of a multidisciplinary working group to assist in the development and preparation of the Code of Practice for the AHD provisions of the Act. I established this multidisciplinary working group on 17th of October 2016 under section 91(2) of the Act. The role of the working group is to prepare a detailed series of recommendations for the Director of the Decision Support Service, in relation to codes of practice. The Director will subsequently prepare a Code(s) of Practice and will submit it to me for approval and, with my consent, the Director will then publish the Code of Practice.
The preparation of the Code of Practice will facilitate the subsequent commencement of Part 8 of the Act, pertaining to AHDs, in its entirety.
My Department is also actively developing legislation to provide procedural safeguards to ensure that people in relevant facilities are not unlawfully deprived of their liberty.
The Government approved draft Heads of Bill on this matter for public consultation last December. This draft legislation sets out procedural safeguards to ensure that people in relevant facilities who lack capacity are not unlawfully deprived of their liberty. The approach taken in the draft legislation makes use of the decision-making procedures, supports and safeguards that already exist under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and also includes some additional safeguards specific to deprivation of liberty. The proposals build on the machinery of the Decision Support Service, which is provided for under this Act. The 51 submissions that were received as part of this public consultation are currently being analysed.
An Advisory Group comprised of key stakeholders has been formed to consider the findings of the public consultation, advise on appropriate amendments to the draft Heads of Bill and ensure that the approach taken integrates effectively with existing legislation.
Every effort is being made to progress the legislation as quickly as possible.
427. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Kildare will receive an eye appointment. [37173/18]
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, since 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.
428. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in County Kildare has not been given a prescription for treatment on their eyes and glasses. [37174/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy.
429. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health if the FreeStyle Libre sensor will be made available under the long-term illness scheme to those over 16 years of age to provide patients with the option between this sensor and an alternative sensor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37175/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the administration of the community drug schemes; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
430. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) can expect an appointment for magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, at the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore, County Offaly. [37181/18]
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, since 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.
431. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if and when a medical card will renew following the submission of all relevant documentation in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37182/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
432. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Health if his Department or the Health Service Executive, HSE, is engaging with section 38 hospitals to assess the possibilities for improving opportunities for hospital staff to apply for transfers between section 38 hospitals and HSE hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37183/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter.
433. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Health the status of implementing the recently announced changes to medicinal cannabis; the progress to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37184/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder existing access arrangements, Irish-based medical practitioners who wish to prescribe cannabis products containing Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) may apply to me, as Minister for Health, for a licence under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Guidance on who may apply for a licence under the Misuse of Drugs Act, as well as instructions on how to apply, can be found on the Department’s website at: health.gov.ie.
Considerable progress is being made in relation to the Cannabis for Medical Use Access Programme. An Expert Group has drawn up clinical guidance for healthcare professionals treating patients through the Access Programme. These guidelines are also available on the Department’s website at the aforementioned web address. The guidelines contain detailed information on medical cannabis, including clinical guidance on the use of medical cannabis and guidance on which cannabis products are appropriate for medical use.
It should be noted that, while these guidelines will primarily underpin the functioning of the Access Programme, the Department invites all clinicians with an interest in considering use of medical cannabis, and in applying for a licence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 to prescribe cannabis for their patient, to review this information repository.
Officials in my Department are working on secondary legislation in the form of three Statutory Instruments, which will underpin the Access Programme. This work will be finalised once appropriate cannabis-based products, to be included in the legislation, can be sourced.
Whilst medical cannabis products are not medicines, ensuring that such products meet appropriate quality standards when they are made available to the Irish market is a critical aspect of facilitating safe access to medical cannabis for patients. My officials are working intensively on this issue to ensure a supply of appropriate medical cannabis products from other EU Member States and further afield to meet the needs of patients. However, my Department has no control in relation to business decisions taken by commercial product manufacturers and has no powers to compel such companies to supply their products to the Irish market.
Until these products are made available in Ireland, it will be a matter for the prescriber and their patient to source the prescribed medical cannabis-based product.
It is understood that patients who have been prescribed such products under Ministerial Licence have sourced them from a pharmacy in the Netherlands. Contact details for this pharmacy are available on the relevant section of the Department's website.
To date, Ministerial licences have been issued for the treatment of nine individual patients, upon receipt of valid licence applications from their clinicians.
434. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) has been subject to two medical card reviews in the past year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37191/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
435. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the difference between the health group gross current expenditure ceiling for 2017 published in the budget 2018 expenditure report of €14.152 million and the 2018 opening position per mid-year expenditure report 2017 of €14.270 million; the breakdown if applicable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37205/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn the 2017 Expenditure Report the Gross Voted Current Expenditure was set at €14,152m for 2017 and €14,270m for 2018. As per page 20 of the 2017 report, the €118m difference is due to changing Demographics.
In the 2018 Expenditure Report the Gross Voted Current Expenditure was set at €14,798m for 2018, an increase of €646m on the level published the previous year. This additional funding took account of pay restoration, and additional resources to fund existing and new services, as set out on page 104 of the 2018 Report.
436. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will have their required surgery scheduled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37207/18]
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, since 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.
437. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the reason inflammatory bowel disease is not included under the long-term illness scheme in view of the fact that it is a long-term illness; if the list will be updated to include this condition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37211/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe LTI Scheme was established under Section 59(3) of the Health Act 1970 (as amended). The conditions covered by the LTI are: acute leukaemia; mental handicap; cerebral palsy; mental illness (in a person under 16); cystic fibrosis; multiple sclerosis; diabetes insipidus; muscular dystrophies; diabetes mellitus; parkinsonism; epilepsy; phenylketonuria; haemophilia; spina bifida; hydrocephalus; and conditions arising from the use of Thalidomide. Under the LTI Scheme, patients receive drugs, medicines, and medical and surgical appliances directly related to the treatment of their illness, free of charge.
There are no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the Scheme.
438. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a recent report that highlighted the fact that no area here meets a minimum basic standard for dementia care; the steps he will take to address this issue in the context of budget 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37213/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs a response to the increasing number of people with dementia, the Irish National Dementia Strategy was launched in December 2014. The Strategy aims to improve dementia care to allow people with dementia to live well for as long as possible and have services and supports delivered as well as possible. A review of the implementation of the National Dementia Strategy was published in May this year and has identified what has been achieved so far and sets out further work required to further implement the Strategy. This work will feed into the estimates process for 2019 and subsequent years.
In parallel with the Strategy, a National Dementia Strategy Implementation Programme (NDSIP) was agreed by the Department of Health, the HSE and Atlantic Philanthropies. €27.5million was committed to the Programme over a three year period across a number of initiatives, including dementia specific intensive homecare packages, an education and training programme for GPs and Primary Care Teams, and an information and awareness campaign which seeks to challenge public misconceptions about dementia and the challenges facing people living with dementia.
In 2016 and 2017, the HSE’s National Dementia Office partnered with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland on a project to map dementia-specific community-based services and supports. The project did not look at the generic services that people with dementia or their families and carers may use or the quality of the identified services. However, it provides a useful snapshot and baseline study into what, where and when dementia services are being offered. The study has also been used to inform a service finder hosted on the National Dementia Office’s website. This allows people to search for dementia-specific community services in their area. There are gaps in access to services and a large variance in what services are provided across the country. The National Dementia Office has met with senior HSE officials in each Community Healthcare Organisation region to highlight gaps in each area and to develop local action plans to improve service provision.
In addition to these community supports, in 2014 the HSE introduced Dementia-Specific Intensive Homecare Packages (Dementia-IHCPs) to test the feasibility of providing a high level of support to people with dementia with complex needs to facilitate them to remain living at home. These were initially co-funded by the HSE and the Atlantic Philanthropies and now fully funded by the HSE, which has committed to continue to provide approximately 120 packages at any one time. At the end of July, there were 171 active Dementia-IHCPs, while 361 people with dementia had availed of an IHCP. In addition to the IHCPs, people with dementia are also able to avail of standard home care services on the basis of need and within the resources available.
The Department of Health secured €6.26 million through the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plans to develop a number of projects which are designed to expand public awareness of dementia and to improve care for people with dementia. Projects receiving funding include the delivery of post-diagnostic supports; a dementia diagnostic service for people with intellectual disability; a national network of memory technology resource rooms; the development of a national dementia registry; the national rollout of a Dementia Training Programme for HSE homecare staff; the development of Dementia Resource Centres; funding for a dementia community activation coordinator; and community support projects for people with dementia.
The National Dementia Office has developed a needs analysis framework to support local dementia service planning and development. This framework is a mechanism to help the Office direct time, energy and resources into dementia care that most appropriately meets the needs of people with dementia. It will be used to make dementia service development more responsive and consistent across the country.
The level of funding available for the Department of Health in 2019 and the quantum of services to be provided by the HSE will be considered as part of the national Estimates and budgetary process and National Service Planning.
439. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Cork joined the waiting list for an assessment of need, AON; the position of the person on the waiting list; when their AON and autism spectrum disorder, ASD, assessment will take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37215/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities which will empower them to live independent lives, provide greater independence in accessing the services they choose, and enhance their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their needs and plan their lives. This commitment is outlined in the Programme for Partnership Government, which is guided by two principles: equality of opportunity and improving the quality of life for people with disabilities.
As the Deputy's question relates to an individual case, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy.
440. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Health if a hospital assessment for a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37216/18]
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, since 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.
