Written Answers Nos. 421-438
421. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the number of children and adolescents on the Louth and Meath child and adolescent mental health services waiting list that are classified as either emergency, urgent or routine; and the average waiting time for assessment for each child as per each classification. [4280/19]
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.
422. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the staffing levels in the Louth and Meath child and adolescent mental health services by staff category (details supplied) in tabular form; the approved staffing levels in the categories; the level of unfilled posts per category; his views on the impact of the unfilled posts on waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4281/19]
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 Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the nature of the out-of-hours service provided by the Louth and Meath child and adolescent mental health services for children and families in crisis. [4282/19]
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.
424. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the number of appointments seen on a daily basis by each of the professional categories (details supplied) in the Louth and Meath child and adolescent mental health services. [4283/19]
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.
425. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the amount of time set aside by professionals for administrative duties on a weekly basis in the Louth and Meath child and adolescent mental health services. [4284/19]
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.
427. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Health the number of children in each CHO area who have received the Meningitis B vaccine privately through their general practitoner or pharmacist born before 1 October 2016 and who subsequently are not entitled to the Meningitis B vaccine programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4299/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this PQ refers to information not readily available in my Department, I have referred it to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
429. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Health the progress that has been made to reduce the waiting list and waiting time for home support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4301/19]
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.
430. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health if there will be no delay in providing a new health facility at a location (details supplied) in view of the cost overruns on the construction of the national children’s hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4310/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is intended that the new primary care centre in Killeshandra will be delivered by means of operational lease, rather than funded directly as part of the HSE Capital Plan. Therefore, it is not expected to be impacted by any funding requirements arising for the new children's hospital.
As the HSE has responsibility for the provision of primary care centres, I have asked the Executive to reply directly to the Deputy with an update on the status of this project for his information.
431. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health if projects in an area (details supplied) will be delayed or deferred due to overruns on the capital budget of the national children's hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4311/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Health Service Executive is currently developing its Capital Plan for 2019. The HSE Capital Plan will determine the projects that can progress in 2019 having regard to the available capital funding, the number of large national capital projects currently under way and the relevant priority of each project. The requirements of the new children's hospital and other health capital projects, currently at various stages of development, are being considered as part of this process.
432. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 163 of 23 January 2019, the reason the definitive business case cannot be immediately released as per the process outlined in his reply to Parliamentary Question No. 552 of 4 April 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4312/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs per Parliamentary Question No. 163 of 23 January 2019, the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board produced the final project brief and definitive business case, and I have asked the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board to respond to the Deputy's request directly as soon as possible.
433. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Health the status of the review of 335 positive BRCA results that were processed at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin; his plans to review the 3,500 negative results; the timeline for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4313/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis issue was first raised in the House in November last year. At that time, officials of my Department contacted the Health Service Executive, HSE. The HSE advised that in late October 2018, an error was discovered in correctly communicating a genetic test result by the Department of Clinical Genetics at Our Lady's Children’s Hospital Crumlin, OLCHC, following an enquiry by an oncologist for a patient with recurring cancer who had a genetic test, known as a BRCA test, in 2009. Crumlin Hospital commenced reviewing this incident as a matter of the utmost priority.
This error has been reported as an incident and is being managed in accordance with the HSE Incident and Risk Management policy, including in commencing an incident review process of this transcription error in correctly communicating the test result in a letter to the referring clinician. Direct contact was made with the patient involved in this incident, with an offer made for an Open Disclosure meeting to take place at the discretion of the patient.
As a precaution, OLCHC also instigated a review of the communication of all BRCA test results since 2006, firstly prioritising the 335 positive BRCA results processed by the Department of Clinical Genetics. I understand that the review carried out in Q4 2018 has concluded, but as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this issue.
For the sake of clarity, I would also like to stress to the House that there is no concern regarding the accuracy of the BRCA test itself. The error which has occurred relates to the correct communication of the test result.
434. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health when he expects the vacant post of consultant psychiatrist at a medical centre (details supplied) to be filled; when full mental health services will be resumed there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4319/19]
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.
435. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Health the avenues available to support a person (details supplied) in receiving funding to pay a nursing home bill which accumulated over four weeks while awaiting fair deal approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4337/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Nursing Homes Support Scheme, NHSS, is a system of financial support for those in need of long-term nursing home care. Participants contribute to the cost of their care according to their income and assets while the State pays the balance of the cost. The Scheme aims to ensure that long-term nursing home care is accessible and affordable for everyone and that people are cared for in the most appropriate settings.
The Scheme covers the cost of the standard components of long-term residential care which are:
- Nursing and personal care appropriate to the level of care needs of the person;
- Bed and board;
- Basic aids and appliances necessary to assist a person with the activities of everyday living;
- Laundry service.
The Scheme had a budget of €962 million for 2018, providing support to approximately 23,000 people by the end of the year. In order to manage the available funds within the budget throughout the year, a national placement list is operated by the HSE. Funding approvals issue to applicants in chronological order. State support can only be paid from either the date that the application is approved, or the date of admission to the nursing home, whichever is the later.
In 2018, the time applicants to the Scheme spend on the placement list for funding did not exceed four weeks. This target has consistently been achieved since April 2015, and it is a significant reduction from the October 2014 wait time of 15 weeks. The target of four weeks for approval of funding remains a commitment in the Programme for Government.
In relation to the case raised by the Deputy, I have asked the HSE to investigate the matter.
436. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of repeat cervical smear tests conducted since May 2018 that are now invalid owing to delays in assessing them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4339/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware of the current delay in processing smear tests, which is a priority concern for me, for my Department and for the HSE. In May 2018, I asked CervicalCheck to make the necessary arrangements to provide that any woman who had had a CervicalCheck smear test, and whose GP considered that they should have a further test, to access such a further test without charge. This decision was made in good faith to address the considerable fears of the many anxious women in Ireland as a result of significant media coverage of the issues that emerged in late April.
In the months since then, there has been a significant increase in the volume of women presenting for smear tests. This includes women who have availed of the out of cycle tests, but also a greater number of women presenting for scheduled screening. The HSE is working to source additional capacity to manage this backlog, notwithstanding global challenges with cytology capacity and resources, and is also working closely with the laboratories in maximising their capacity to deal with the demand. It is important to be clear that this issue will take some time to resolve.
Some women will require to have their test repeated where there were delays in the technical fixing of the slide, a step which must be completed within six weeks of the smear being taken, or where the vial used to contain the sample expires. The HSE has advised that, from April to October 2018, there was a 0.29% rate of expired samples and vials. This is very similar to the same period in 2017, when it was 0.25%. The HSE advises that there are procedures in place to deal with this issue as and when it arises.
Where low grade changes are detected on a cervical smear test, a second test which looks for the HPV virus is then carried out. The Deputy will be aware that a separate issue has arisen in relation to this secondary HPV test. The HSE has advised that some HPV tests carried out by Quest Laboratories have been performed outside of the manufacturer’s recommended timeframe. The clinical advice is that this issue poses a very low clinical risk to women; however, as a precaution, affected women will be offered a repeat test to provide them with reassurance. It is expected that up to 6,000 women will be invited for a repeat test. The HSE is working to finalise arrangements to communicate with these women.
In relation to the specific number of smear tests which have been repeated or require to be repeated, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
437. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health when he envisages the publication of the national Traveller health action plan (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4340/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy, NTRIS, contains a set of specific actions aimed at improving the situation for Traveller and Roma communities in Ireland.
Recommendation 73 of the NTRIS states that, "The Health Service Executive will develop and implement a detailed action plan, based on the findings of the All Ireland Traveller Health Study, to continue to address the specific health needs of Travellers, using a social determinants approach".
The action plan is primarily a HSE Action Plan, I have referred the matter to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
438. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Health if the commitment to have acute mental health beds returned to County Tipperary will be impacted by the overrun in the national children's hospital project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4345/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Health Service Executive is currently developing its Capital Plan for 2019. The HSE Capital Plan will determine the projects that can progress in 2019 having regard to the available capital funding, the number of large national capital projects currently under way and the relevant priority of each project. The requirements of the new children's hospital and other health capital projects, currently at various stages of development, are being considered as part of this process.
I have been pursuing over recent times with the HSE the question of additional mental health bed capacity for CHO5, including Tipperary, and I am awaiting a report in the near future from the Executive on the matter. I will certainly, in this context, bear in mind the issue raised by the Deputy.
