Written Answers Nos. 1350-1367
1350. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health the public health measures being put in place to ensure the isolation of Covid-19 infection within the Travelling community, the rate of which has increased in the past four weeks. [33334/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
1351. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the way in which priority testing for essential workers and healthcare workers operates in practice; the turnaround time for same; the way in which derogations to return to work early operate; the frequency with which this has been used; the steps taken to streamline the overall process of testing in healthcare workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33336/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1352. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if all Covid-19-related services relating to general practice and general practitioners are free-of-charge; if this applies in the case of out-of-hours GP services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33337/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn agreement was reached with GP representatives in March 2020 to ensure people who were experiencing coronavirus symptoms have access to free GP Covid-19 assessments and coronavirus tests. This agreement was reviewed in June and expanded to ensure that arrangements are in place for GP referral for weekend COVID-19 testing Out of Hours services without any additional fee being payable by patients.
In September, the Government again approved the maintenance of support payments to GPs for the provision of remote and in-person Covid-19 consultations. In return, the public will have continued access to Covid-19 related GP assessment, treatment, and testing referrals without charge.
1353. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) will receive a contract; when additional homecare hours announced in the winter plan will come on stream; if additional staff will be brought on; the timeline for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33338/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1354. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health if there is a group of environmental scientists feeding into NPHET; if not, the reason; and the amount allocated to improve ventilation in buildings (details supplied). [33341/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra1469. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if his Department has considered evidence in an article (details supplied) which shows that good ventilation is critical to lowering Covid-19 transmission; the number of personnel in his Department who have responsibility for considering and implementing preventative policy actions to stop the onward spread of Covid-19; if ventilation is considered as part of their work; if so, if they are considering the impact of ventilation in disparate areas such as homes, cars, schools and nursing homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33913/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1354 and 1469 together.
Lack of appropriate ventilation within healthcare settings has been associated with increased rates of infection with airborne diseases. Similarly, inadequate ventilation in nonhealthcare settings has been shown as a contributing factor in outbreaks of highly infectious airborne diseases like measles and TB. COVID-19 is a new disease, and the effect of ventilation on the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is still unclear.
There is currently no strong evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is spread through aerosol transmission via HVAC systems. However, there is evidence that COVID-19 outbreaks are more commonly associated with crowded indoor spaces, and that poor ventilation may increase the risk of transmission in such settings by facilitating the spread of droplets over longer distances.
The Deputy may wish to note that in September the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre published a guidance document which provides an analysis of the current literature examining the association between ventilation and COVID-19. The document also provides recommendations, based on the literature, for commercial and public buildings, including with regard to mechanical ventilation. The guidance also includes specific recommendations for school settings. This guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/educationguidance/Guidance%20on%20non%20HCbuilding%20ventilation%20during%20COVID-19.pdf
1355. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Health if the case of a person (details supplied) will be addressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33342/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn Tuesday 15 September the Government published ‘Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19’. This Plan outlines our medium-term strategy for COVID-19 and sets out a Framework of 5 Levels which outline the broad measures which will apply depending on the level of the virus at any given time. The Plan is designed to help everyone – individuals, families, organisations and sectors – to better understand, anticipate and prepare for the measures that might be introduced to contain transmission of the virus. Restrictions on domestic travel apply at Levels 3, 4 and 5 of the Plan. No restrictions on travel apply at Level 1 and 2 of the Plan.
At all levels of the Framework, and in all regulations which give effect to measures agreed by Government, provision is made to ensure that parents can continue to access their children. The regulations make clear that it is permitted to travel across county borders (Levels 3 and 4) and further than 5km (Level 5) for these purposes. Travel is permitted for parents of a child; guardian of a child; and a person who has a right of access to a child.
Those who share parenting or custody arrangements are now also permitted to form a support bubble should they wish to and further details on support bubbles is available here: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/3516d-support-bubbles/
1357. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown of budget 2021 funding for breastfeeding; the funding being made available to implement the national breastfeeding action plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33350/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1358. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Health if costings were carried out in relation to the implementation of the National Breastfeeding Action Plan; if so, if he will provide a breakdown of these costings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33351/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1359. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the areas in which the 600 new rehabilitation beds announced in budget 2021 will be located; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33352/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1360. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the status of the planned replacement hospital for St. Joseph’s Hospital, Ennis, County Clare. [33353/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, they have advised that the HSE has agreed to purchase the site comprising 5.09 acres at Diocesan lands located near the Turnpike in Ennis, Co. Clare for the new 100-bed Community Nursing Unit. (CNU)
The project will see a new facility providing a 100-bed HIQA compliant CNU for long stay residents. The unit will include 88 single rooms, 4 twin rooms and 4 palliative care rooms and will be designed to comply with the “National Quality Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People in Ireland” published by HIQA in 2009. The site selection comes after an extensive option appraisal of a number of sites in the Ennis environs and represents the best option available to the HSE.
The purchase of the site is subject to planning permission for the development of a Community Nursing Unit. The contracts are signed and exchanged. The first stage of procurement of a design team has commenced and it is planned to have a full design team appointed before the end of the year. The expected timeframe for the project will be in the region of 3 years following design team appointment.
1361. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if he will consider using the Reserve Defence Force to help with contact tracing for Covid-19 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33354/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1362. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if any HSE staff currently working on contract tracing have been redeployed from other services, specifically those involving speech and language assessments for children, occupational therapist services and NEPS psychologists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33360/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1363. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Health his views on the fact that the agency contract signed between the HSE and a company (details supplied) in relation to the terms and conditions of level 2 Covid-19 contact tracers and the individual contracts and terms and conditions of employment makes it clear that those that have been hired to undertake this critical job do not enjoy the same sick pay terms as level 1 tracers that are in the direct employment of the HSE; his further views on whether the lack of full sick pay cover could potentially see such agency workers placing themselves at risk and in a compromised position in the workplace; if he and the HSE will address this deficit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33365/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraHealth services are provided either by directly-employed HSE staff or by voluntary and private providers who have formal tender arrangements with the HSE to deliver the services.
Due to the strain on existing HSE HR resources to meet the COVID- 19 challenge, the HSE are being supported by an employment agency in increasing the available workforce for a short-term period during the Covid-19 pandemic as required.
I cannot directly comment on arrangements between the HSE and external providers of health services, however I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy on this matter.
1364. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the shortage of supply of child flu vaccinations that have been ordered by pharmacists to be provided within primary school clinics in the south east; his plans to address this shortage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33366/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government has expanded the provision of seasonal influenza vaccination without charge to all of those in the HSE-defined at-risk groups, including healthcare workers, and to all children aged from 2 to 12 years. Vaccines are being administered via GPs and pharmacists, as in previous years.
This season, 1.95 million doses of influenza vaccine have been purchased, which is double the amount administered last season. The HSE has procured 1.35 million doses of the Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine (QIV) for the forthcoming winter. This vaccine is being made available to all persons in an at-risk group and aged from 6 months up. In addition, the HSE has also purchased 600,000 doses of the Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (LAIV), which is delivered via nasal drops rather than by injection and is being made available to all children aged from 2 to 12 years old inclusive.
This expanded programme will ensure that those most vulnerable to the effects of influenza will have access without charges. This is in line with the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee and represents a significant step forward in providing vaccination without charges.
Half of the total doses of LAIV (nasal) vaccination for administration to children aged from 2 to 12 years has been distributed to GPs and pharmacists. The LAIV vaccination programme for children is well underway across the country. A high uptake of the vaccine in children has been shown to reduce the spread of influenza in the community. Maximising uptake of LAIV in children will also help protect others against influenza in the community. The full quantity of LAIV ordered has now been received and is in the process of being distributed to GPs and pharmacists.
1365. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health when a transfer of service for a person (details supplied) from the HSE to the Department of Education will take place. [33373/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
1367. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of persons seeking mental health supports in Galway city to date in 2020; the way in which this compares to the previous five years; if there were notable increases during the initial Covid-19 emergency period lockdown from 13 March 2020 to 18 May 2020 in those seeking mental health services in Galway city; if there was a change over the summer months with more relaxed restrictions; if his Department and the HSE are planning for increased resources for mental health services in Galway city through the current stage of restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33405/20]
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.
