Written Answers Nos. 186-200
186. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of patient discharges from hospitals in which patients were discharged to no fixed address, including bed and breakfasts, hostels, hotels and so on to date in 2019, in tabular form. [51931/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
187. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of persons treated for gambling addiction to date in 2019. [51932/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra217. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the funding allocated to help treat persons with gambling addiction in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51964/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 187 and 217 together.
As these are service matters, they have been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
188. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health if he will undertake a dedicated nationwide gambling prevalence survey in order to identify the number of problem gamblers, ascertain the scale of problem gambling and put the correct supports in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51933/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraResponsibility for government policy on gambling lies with the Department of Justice and Equality. The Department recently published the report of the Inter-Departmental Working Group on the Future Licensing and Regulation of Gambling. The report considered the social impact of gambling and the protection of vulnerable persons. The Group recommended that a Social Fund should be established to fund research on problem gambling.
The report notes that the 2014/15 Drug Prevalence Survey provides the first comprehensive set of data on the extent of gambling in Ireland, as the final achieved sample comprised of 7,005 respondents. The results indicate that 64.5% of the population report some form of gambling in the 12 months prior to the survey, with 41.4% gambling on a monthly basis, or more often. The survey further found that prevalence of problem gambling in the general population was 0.8%.
The survey is being repeated for 2018/2019 under the auspices of the Health Research Board (HRB) with initial findings expected to be published in 2020.
The regulation of gambling is the responsibility of my colleague, Minister David Stanton, in the Department of Justice and Equality. I am happy to facilitate the Dept in the collection of data on problem gambling in the drug prevalence survey.
189. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of beds in the National Rehabilitation Hospital; the number occupied, empty and closed, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51934/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra190. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health if funding issues are causing beds at the National Rehabilitation Hospital to remain empty or not staffed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51935/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 189 and 190 together.
The 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 questions relate to service matters, I have arranged for the questions to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy.
191. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 716 and 717 of 26 July 2017, the number of medical facilities, including maternity theatres, hospital wards, surgical theatres and so on built by the State but that have never been opened or become operational; the location of same; the length of time they have been closed or non-operational; the reason they are not in operation in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51936/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly as soon as possible
192. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of day respite care sessions provided to date in 2019; and the way in which this compares with 2018 by CHO and LHO in tabular form [51937/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra193. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of overnight respite care sessions provided to date in 2019; and the way in which this compares with 2018 by CHO and LHO in tabular form [51938/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 192 and 193 together.
The 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.
The Programme for Partnership Government states that the Government wishes to provide more accessible respite care to facilitate full support for people with a disability.
As the Deputy's questions relate to service matters, I have arranged for the questions to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy
194. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of cataract surgeries cancelled nationally by hospital in each of the years 2016 to 2018 and to date 2019, in tabular form. [51939/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraMaintaining scheduled care access for all patients is a key priority for hospitals. I fully acknowledge the distress and inconvenience for patients and their families when elective procedures are cancelled, particularly for clinically urgent procedures.
While every effort is made to avoid cancellation or postponement of planned procedures, the HSE advise that planned procedures and operations can be postponed or cancelled for a variety of reasons including capacity issues due to increased scheduled and unscheduled care demand, medical reasons, and patient choice.
In relation to the specific question raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to reply to the Deputy directly.
195. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of ENT surgeries cancelled for children nationally by hospital in each of the years 2016 to 2018 and to date 2019, in tabular form. [51940/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraMaintaining scheduled care access for all patients is a key priority for hospitals. I fully acknowledge the distress and inconvenience for patients and their families when elective procedures are cancelled, particularly for clinically urgent procedures.
While every effort is made to avoid cancellation or postponement of planned procedures, the HSE advise that planned procedures and operations can be postponed or cancelled for a variety of reasons including capacity issues due to increased scheduled and unscheduled care demand, medical reasons, and patient choice.
In relation to the specific question raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to reply to the Deputy directly.
196. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of children on ENT surgery waiting lists nationally by hospital in each of the years 2016 to 2018 and to date 2019, in tabular form. [51941/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraReducing waiting time for patients for hospital operations and procedures is a key priority for Government. In this regard, the Government is committed to improving waiting times for hospital appointments and procedures.
Budget 2020 announced that the Government has further increased investment in tackling waiting lists, with funding to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) increasing from €75 million in 2019 to €100 million in 2020.
My Department is working with the HSE and the NTPF to develop the Scheduled Care Access Plan 2020, which will include ENT services. The National Service Plan 2020 will set out HSE planned activity level for the year ahead, while the NTPF will work with the hospital system to provide additionality to improve access to inpatient/daycase treatment.
In this regard, I would encourage all hospital groups and individual hospitals to engage with the NTPF to identify waiting list proposals for the remainder of this year and for 2020.
The information requested by the Deputy has been provided to my Department by the NTPF and is provided below.
197. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the length of time each person has been on the waiting list for cataract surgery nationally by hospital; the length of time people have been waiting by month in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51942/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra198. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the medically advised waiting time for cataract surgeries compared to the waiting times for cataract surgeries nationally and by hospital in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51943/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 197 and 198 together.
Reducing waiting time for patients for hospital operations and procedures is a key priority for Government. In recent years, my Department has worked with the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) and made considerable improvements to access for patients waiting for high volume procedures and life limiting procedures including cataracts.
At the end of July 2017, the number of people waiting for a cataract procedure was 10,024. Since then the numbers waiting have consistently improved and at the end of October 2019 they stand at 4,480. Of these, 494 patients are waiting over 9 months which represents a reduction of 90% when compared to July 2017, when the number waiting over 9 months stood at 4,371.
More broadly, Budget 2020 announced that the Government has further increased investment in tackling waiting lists, with funding to the NTPF increasing from €75 million in 2019 to €100 million in 2019. The year-on-year increase in funding to the NTPF since Budget 2017 reflect this Government’s priority to improve waiting times for patients to access hospital treatment. The Department of Health is working with the HSE and the NTPF to develop the Scheduled Care Access Plan 2020, which will include ophthalmology services.
In relation to the specific matter raised by the Deputy, the HSE National Clinical Programme for Ophthalmology has advised that there is no specific medically advised waiting time for cataract surgery. A patient with a cataract is advised to have it removed when it significantly impacts on their activities of daily living and this can vary from patient to patient. Once a patient’s vision drops to below 6/12 in the better eye, they are advised to have the cataract removed if they wish to continue driving.
The attached table provides a breakdown of the number of people awaiting cataract surgery by time band nationally by hospital at the end of October 2019.
199. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of children on the speech and language therapy assessment waiting list; and the number waiting less than four, four to 12 and more than 12 months, respectively, by LHO in tabular form. [51944/19]
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 service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy.
200. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on the occupational therapy first-time assessment waiting list in each local health office area; the number waiting less than four, four to 12 and more than 12 months, respectively; and the number waiting aged zero to four, five to 17, 18 to 64 and 65 or more years of age, respectively in each category in tabular form [51945/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply.
