Written Answers Nos. 1056-1074
1056. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the percentage of grievances taken by CHO4 mental health service staff that were upheld at stage 1; the percentage upheld at stage 2 of the HSE grievance procedure in each of the years 2018 to 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16973/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on this matter.
1057. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the way in which clinical and ethical concerns involving service users that have been raised by HSE mental health service staff members are dealt with and recorded by HSE management; the protections in place for staff members raising such concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16974/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on the matter.
1058. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to address the waiting lists for occupational therapists given 11,023 children, including 1,727 in the Cork and Kerry regions, have been waiting at least one year for their first assessment with an occupational therapist; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16975/21]
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.
1059. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the status of the testing centre for Covid-19 on South Douglas Road, Cork city. [17009/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra1060. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of testing centres currently operating in Cork city and county; and the days and hours they are open in tabular form. [17010/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1059 and 1060 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1062. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health if his Department has undertaken a study to investigate the impact of Covid-19 and lockdowns on the provision of mental health services. [17012/21]
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.
1063. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health if his Department has undertaken a study to investigate the impact of Covid-19 and lockdowns on people's mental health; and, if so, if he will provide the details. [17013/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department commissioned Amárach Research to conduct weekly research on public sentiment around a broad range of issues related to COVID-19 and public health measures. This has been ongoing throughout the pandemic.
The polls are conducted using Amárach’s SmartPoll panel and weighted to the demographics of the adult population. The polls are published each week on the Government website. Personal worry and the sources of worry are one of the opinions tracked with this survey, as well as sentiment around the level of restrictions in place over time.
The research can be found here: https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/6b4401-view-the-amarach-public-opinion-survey/
1064. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the number of appointments for cancer screening, diagnostics, treatments or routine and follow-up appointments that have been cancelled or postponed since March 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17014/21]
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.
1065. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will be administered a vaccine. [17015/21]
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.
1066. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health his plans to carry out a public inquiry into the outbreak of Covid-19 in nursing homes and the help and assistance that was provided to them during the first wave of the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17029/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraHIQA is the national independent regulator of nursing homes and through its powers assesses whether residential services are providing high-quality, safe and effective services and supports for the people who live there.
HIQA has significant and wide-ranging powers up to and including withdrawing the registration of a nursing home facility, which means that it can no longer operate as a service provider. This responsibility is underpinned by a comprehensive quality framework comprising of Registration Regulations, Care and Welfare Regulations and National Quality Standards.
HIQA, in discharging its duties determines, through examination of all information available to it, including site inspections, whether a nursing home meets the regulations in order to achieve and maintain its registration status. Should a nursing home be deemed to be non-compliant with the Regulations and the National Quality Standards, it may either fail to achieve or lose its registration status. In addition, the Chief Inspector has wide discretion in deciding whether to impose conditions of Registration on nursing homes.
The Nursing Homes Expert Panel was established, on foot of a NPHET recommendation, to examine the complex issues surrounding the management of COVID-19 among this particularly vulnerable cohort. This Expert Panel report has added further to our knowledge and learning. This report clearly outlines the key protective measures that we must ensure are in place across our nursing homes. These actions are based on learning from our own and the international experience of COVID-19 to date. The report also recommends additional analysis and examination of the relevant public health and other data sets in order that further causal and protective factors for COVID-19 clusters are identified.
Work to progress the recommendations of the Expert Panel report, particularly those recommendations requiring a priority focus in the response to COVID-19, is ongoing across all of the health agencies and stakeholders. Continued learning and understanding of progression of the disease in Ireland is an integral part of those recommendations.
Residents of nursing homes are vulnerable because of their age, underlying medical conditions, the extent of their requirement for direct care involving close physical contact and the nature of living in congregated settings. The very infectious nature of COVID-19 makes it difficult to prevent and control in residential care settings. The transmission of the virus into and within nursing homes is multifactorial. As identified by the Nursing Homes Expert Panel, where there is ongoing community transmission, settings like nursing homes are more vulnerable to exposure.
The State’s responsibility to respond to the public health emergency created the need for the HSE to set up a structured support system in line with NPHET recommendations. This has been a critical intervention in supporting the resilience of the sector in meeting the unprecedented challenges associated with COVID-19. The supports provided during the first wave included:
- Enhanced HSE engagement.
- Temporary HSE governance arrangements.
- Multidisciplinary clinical supports at CHO level through 23 COVID-19 Response Teams.
- Access to supply lines for PPE, medical oxygen etc.; significant volumes of PPE was supplied to private and voluntary nursing homes on a without charge basis.
- Serial testing in nursing homes.
- Access to staff from community and acute hospitals.
- Suite of focused guidance.
- Temporary financial support scheme established, with over €80.1m in additional funding support provided thus far at 26 March. The Scheme is open until 30 June 2021.
- Temporary accommodation to nursing home staff.
- HIQA Infection Prevention Hub.
- Regulatory Assessment Framework of the preparedness of designated centres for older people for a COVID-19 outbreak designed by HIQA.
1067. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the plans in place to utilise resources to support the roll-out of the Covid-19 testing and vaccination strategies such as medical professionals who have been trained to provide localised responses in counties Roscommon and Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17030/21]
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.
1068. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 848 of 24 February 2021, the breakdown of the approximate non-vaccination rates within each of the priority groups 1 to 4, inclusive, currently receiving the vaccine with the rate expressed as a percentage of the total estimated population within each group in tabular form. [17034/21]
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.
1069. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health the number of intern doctor positions by acute hospital group in each of the years 2015 to 2020; and the projected number for 2021, in tabular form. [17036/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1070. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will be facilitated with an urgent appointment at the gastro clinic at Ennis Hospital following several previously cancelled appointments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17035/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last year as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HSE is currently recommending that only critical time dependent elective procedures are undertaken at this time due to the on-going and significant increased demand for bed capacity related to COVID-19.
This decision was made arising from the rapid increase in COVID-19 admissions and to ensure patient safety and that all appropriate resources were made available for COVID-19 related activity and time-critical essential work.
Patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically-aligned and prioritised way, hospitals are following HSE clinical guidelines and protocols.
On 23 March the HSE published the “Safe Return to Health Services Plan”. This plan outlines a three phased approach for the proposed restoration of services across Community Services, Acute Hospital Operations, Cancer Services and Screening Services. It sets target times for their safe return and details the conditions and challenges that will have to be met.
Every phase of the plan has been informed by clinical guidance and putting patient and staff safety first.
Decisions in relation to the type and volume of activity will be made at site level based on local COVID-19 numbers, available capacity and guidance from national clinical leads.
The schedule outlined in the plan for resumption of services will be regularly monitored by the HSE and updated as appropriate, dependant on public health advice and healthcare capacity.
Under 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 is a standardised approach used by the HSE to manage scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures. It sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists and was developed in 2014 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.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1071. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health when a child (details supplied) will be afforded speech and language therapy. [17040/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly.
1072. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the considerable delay in responses to registration applications on the front-line healthcare workers portal (details supplied); and the work undertaken to rectify the matter. [17042/21]
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.
1073. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the progress to date in the determination of an appeal for a discretionary medical card in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17050/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.
1074. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of an appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17056/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last year as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HSE is currently recommending that only critical time dependent elective procedures are undertaken at this time due to the on-going and significant increased demand for bed capacity related to COVID-19.
This decision was made arising from the rapid increase in COVID-19 admissions and to ensure patient safety and that all appropriate resources were made available for COVID-19 related activity and time-critical essential work.
Patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically aligned and prioritised way, hospitals are following HSE clinical guidelines and protocols.
On 23 March the HSE published the “Safe Return to Health Services Plan”. This plan outlines a three phased approach for the proposed restoration of services across Community Services, Acute Hospital Operations, Cancer Services and Screening Services. It sets target times for their safe return and details the conditions and challenges that will have to be met.
Every phase of the plan has been informed by clinical guidance and putting patient and staff safety first.
Decisions in relation to the type and volume of activity will be made at site level based on local COVID-19 numbers, available capacity and guidance from national clinical leads.
The schedule outlined in the plan for resumption of services will be regularly monitored by the HSE and updated as appropriate, dependant on public health advice and healthcare capacity.
Under 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 is a standardised approach used by the HSE to manage scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures. It sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists and was developed in 2014 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.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
