Written Answers Nos. 594-616
594. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on the waiting list to see a physiotherapist at Midlands Regional Hospital, Mullingar, County Westmeath, in each of the years 2018 to 2020 and to date in 2021. [47672/21]
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.
595. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the storage costs to date for the now defunct community hubs in CHO8; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47673/21]
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.
596. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health if he will consider extending the free HPV vaccine programme to girls in every age group who are still attending school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47674/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). The committee's recommendations are based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practice in relation to immunisation. It makes recommendations on vaccination policy to my Department. The NIAC continues to revise recommendations to allow for the introduction of new vaccines in Ireland and to keep abreast of changes in the patterns of disease. Therefore, the immunisation schedule will continue to be amended over time.
In 2009, the NIAC recommended HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination for all 12 to 13 year old girls to reduce their risk of developing cervical cancer when they are adults. In September 2010, the HPV vaccination programme was introduced for all girls in first year of secondary school.
In June 2017, on foot of the NIAC’s recommendation that the HPV vaccine should also be given to boys, my Department asked the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to undertake a health technology assessment (HTA) to establish the clinical and cost-effectiveness of extending the immunisation programme to include boys in the first year of secondary school.
The HIQA completed the HTA in December 2018, recommending that the HPV immunisation programme be extended to include boys. A policy decision was made to extend the HPV immunisation programme to include boys, starting in September 2019, with the introduction of a 9-valent HPV vaccine.
The ages at which vaccines are recommended in the immunisation schedule are chosen by the NIAC in order to give each child the best possible protection against vaccine preventable diseases. As the HPV vaccine is preventative it is intended to be administered, if possible, before a person becomes sexually active, that is, before a person is first exposed to HPV infection.
Therefore, the gender-neutral HPV vaccination programme targets all girls and boys in first year of secondary school to provide maximum coverage. All vaccines administered through the School Immunisation Programme are provided free of charge.
My Department will continue to be guided by NIAC's recommendations on any emerging evidence on this issue in the future.
Anyone not in 1st year of secondary school or age equivalent in special schools or home schooled during the 2020/2021 school year who wishes to get the HPV vaccine, must go to their GP or sexual health clinic and pay privately for the vaccine and its administration. This applies to everyone whether or not they have a medical card/GP visit card, as it is outside of the HPV immunisation programme.
At the request of my Department, the HIQA are conducting a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) on a school based HPV mop-up vaccination programme (for those that were previously eligible and missed or turned down the vaccine). The HIQA has confirmed that this HTA has been added to its work programme for 2021/2022 and I have requested that my officials give consideration to the outcome of this work in the context of the immunisation programme.
597. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will report on the decision to transfer oncology day services including all ancillary services from University Hospital Kerry to the Bons Secours Hospital, Tralee; the projected timeline of the transfer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47686/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra598. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health if he will report on the projected costs related to the transfer of oncology day services including all ancillary services from University Hospital Kerry to the Bons Secours Hospital, Tralee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47687/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 597 and 598 together.
The HSE's National Cancer Control Programme, in conjunction with University Hospital Kerry (UHK) have advised that UHK, as part of the South-South West Hospital Group (SSWHG), has provided both Oncology day-care and Outpatient Department (OPD) clinics on the hospital campus, with visiting Consultant Oncologists and on-site nursing and administrative staff, for many years. The service has grown over the years in line with the national oncology services.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Oncology day ward services were delivered on half a ward on the third floor of the main hospital building. Following a risk assessment with the onset of the pandemic, the day ward service was temporarily re-housed in the Palliative Care day ward. This was never envisaged to be a long-term solution and UHK had linked with HSE Estates to plan for a dedicated Oncology Development on-site, incorporating both Oncology day services and OPD. This process is at planning stage and UHK has also collaborated with the local ‘Comfort for Chemo Kerry’ charity organisation seeking their support and input.
It is accepted that approval, planning and construction/fitting out of a dedicated unit on the UHK campus will take some time, and it is also acknowledged that the Palliative Care Day Ward service requires access to their unit again. In these circumstances, UHK has linked with the Bon Secours Hospital Tralee (BSHT), to provide temporary accommodation. Plans are now at an advanced stage to move the day ward service to a unit on the BSHT campus when it is refurbished. The service will continue to be fully staffed by HSE/UHK personnel at the new location. OPD services will remain at UHK. Both the National Cancer Control Programme and SSWHG are fully supportive of this plan.
600. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Health the number of nurses, management and administrative staff employed by the HSE on 31 December 2019; the corresponding number for each category on 30 June 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47691/21]
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.
601. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the annual cost of running a fully staffed early intervention team, that is, occupational therapist, psychologist, physiotherapist, social worker and speech and language therapist for a child with additional needs; if the cost varies between CHOs based on operations to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47695/21]
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.
602. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the annual revenue cost of a mental health bed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47696/21]
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.
603. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the number of specialist dieticians, nutrition specialists and therapists specialising in eating disorders who work out of Ennis General Hospital through CAMHS services. [47697/21]
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.
604. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the number of children who have been on the waiting list for CAMHS services at the end of each year between 2016 and 2020 in County Clare in tabular form. [47698/21]
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.
605. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the breakdown of children currently on the waiting list for CAMHS in County Clare; and the length of time they have been on the list for under three, three to six, six to nine, nine to 12 months and in excess of one year, in tabular form. [47699/21]
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.
606. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the breakdown of the children on the waiting list for CAMHS services in County Clare by age in tabular form. [47701/21]
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.
607. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the number of children on waiting lists for eye examinations in County Clare. [47702/21]
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.
608. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the number of children on a waiting list for speech and language therapy services by age and length of time they have been on the list in tabular form. [47703/21]
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.
609. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the number of children on a waiting list for dental examinations and check-ups in County Clare. [47704/21]
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.
610. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) will be called for an outpatient appointment; the reason for the delay in same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47705/21]
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.
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.
611. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health if he will amend the next-of-kin rule in order that both parents of single adults who are hospitalised are down as the point of contact rather than just one when applicable. [47706/21]
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.
612. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if it is the position of his Department that a school principal would be breaching GDPR by sending an email or letter saying to parents that there has been a case of Covid-19 in their child’s class in the context of the new guidance regarding close contacts in childcare and education settings. [47709/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra613. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if the advice from his Department that it does not recommend that principals inform parents about Covid-19 in their children’s class supersedes a school’s duty of care to pupils and school staffs’ right to a safe work environment. [47710/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 612 and 613 together.
The role of testing and contact tracing, as part of the wider public health response, has been under ongoing review throughout the pandemic and will continue to be reviewed and amended in line with the epidemiological profile of the disease, its impact on healthcare utilisation and outcomes, and the vaccination status of the population.
I have approved recommendations from NPHET focusing on children in childcare and primary education settings to ensure children may continue in education to the greatest extent possible. These recommendations recognise the very significant impact of the previous testing and tracing requirements on children in these settings. The changes which came into effect on 27 September 2021 are as follows:
- Automatic contact tracing of close contacts in childcare facilities and primary education will be discontinued (not including special education facilities).
- Testing of asymptomatic close contacts in childcare facilities and primary education will be discontinued (not including special education facilities).
- Children aged 12 yrs or under, who are identified as close contacts in childcare, educational settings, special education settings or other non-household settings and who are asymptomatic will no longer be required to restrict movements, unless indicated by the local public health team.
- Children aged 12yrs or under who are identified as household close contacts in household settings will still be required to restrict movements and get tested, regardless of symptomatic status.
It is important to reiterate that the public health advice remains that any child aged 12yrs or under who displays symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should rapidly self-isolate and not attend school or socialise until 48 hours after they are symptom free.
Further information is available in the Guidance for COVID-19 Contact Tracing for Children (>3 months to under 13 years of age) published by the Health Protection and Surveillance Centre, available at www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/educationguidance/Contact%20tracing%20under%2013s.pdf
The recommendations which have come into effect are based on what has been learned throughout the pandemic, primarily
- Children seem more likely than adults to have no symptoms or to have mild disease
- Investigation of cases identified in school settings suggests that child to child transmission in schools is uncommon and not the primary cause of Sars-CoV-2 infection in children, particularly in pre-school and primary educational settings
- Children are rarely identified as the route of transmission of infection into the household setting
- Children are not more likely than adults to spread infection to other people.
On that basis, from a public health perspective there is no clinical need for information to be routinely shared with contacts of cases and Public Health do not recommend telling parents of other children that there has been a case of COVID 19 within a class or group. Sharing of health data relating to positive cases in the manner envisaged in the question should only be done on the advice of Public Health and according to the provisions of the Infectious Disease Regulations. Since the provisions of the Infectious Disease Regulations no longer apply in this instance, it is important to note the importance of an individual’s confidentiality not being broken by others, in line with normal GDPR requirements. It is important that families are aware of the need to ensure they do not send children in to school and childcare facilities or to participate in activities if the child has new symptoms consistent with COVID 19. In these circumstances they should observe their child and contact their GP as appropriate. It is also important to regularly re-enforce the benefit to all of continuing to abide by infection prevention control and mitigation measures in place within school and childcare facilities.
The Deputy may wish to note that the changes in guidance outlined above do not apply to special educational needs (SEN) schools or SEN-specific classes or children attending respite care. In these circumstances close contacts amongst children may well still be identified and asked to restrict their movements, following a Public Health Risk Assessment conducted by a public health doctor. However, close contacts will generally be requested only to restrict their movements for 5 days and be referred for one COVID-19 test. This is to balance the observation period required for children for signs of infection, with testing at the most relevant time, whilst not prolonging restricted movements and the harms to children from these restrictions.
614. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health when the contract management support units will be fully in place to support the various service providers across the nine community healthcare organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47715/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe HSE is establishing Contract Management Support Units (CMSUs) in each of the nine Community Healthcare Organisations (CHOs) to support service managers in managing all aspects of the relationship with S38 and S39 Service Providers (Providers). I understand that four pilot sites were put in place in CHOs 4, 6, 7 and 9; three of these CMSUs are partially established and one is fully established. Currently, an Implementation Group is working with representatives from all the above mentioned CHOs to develop the CMSU processes. Among the key responsibilities of the CMSUs is to ensure that:
- Service Agreements (SAs) and Grant Aid Agreements (GAs) are finalised and completed in respect of all Providers that are in receipt of annual funding and that the service provider governance (SPG) system is updated in this regard
- Annual Financial Statements and Annual Financial Monitoring Returns are both received and reviewed at local level in a timely manner
- Regular performance review meetings are held in accordance with the requirements of Guidelines for Performance Management for SAs and GAs
- Key documents such as the Business Plan, Chairperson’s Statement, Management Accounts and Activity Data are received and reviewed as appropriate.
Having reviewed the pilot sites the HSE determined that due to the higher concentration of voluntary body headquarters in the areas covered by CHOs 7 and 9, that they would be assigned an additional Financial Analyst post each in order to have sufficient capacity to deal with the additional workload. CHOs 3, 5 and 8 have also commenced developing their CMSUs. Central to the establishment of the CMSUs is the appointment of the CMSU Managers at Grade VIII level in each of the nine CHOs. To date, 8 of the 9 CMSU managers have been appointed. The remaining CMSU manager post has been accepted and will start in October 2021. Of the 38 whole time equivalent positions approved, 17 are in post, 7 are appointed and are due to start by the end of October and 14 posts are still in the recruitment process.
615. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health the preclusions, exclusions or implications that exist for parents who gift via inheritance cash or physical assets to their next of kin in cases in which the children are living with a significant intellectual or physical disability; if they risk losing access to HSE supports or other social services; the efforts that have been made to ease inequalities in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47719/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe current Programme for Government commits this Government to improving services and increasing supports for people with disabilities. Disability service provision is based on the needs of the individual, rather than the provision of services based on a specific disability diagnosis. It is noted however that eligibility for the HSE Mobility Allowance, which closed to new applicants in 2013, and Supplementary Blind Welfare Allowance is means tested.
Regarding other HSE supports such as the medical card, under the Health Act 1970, eligibility for a medical card is based primarily on means. The Act obliges the HSE to assess whether a person is unable, without due hardship, to arrange general practitioner services for himself or herself and his or her family, having regard to his or her overall financial position and reasonable expenditure. However, since 2017, all children for whom a Domiciliary Care Allowance (a monthly payment for a child with a severe disability) is paid automatically qualify for a medical card without a financial assessment.
As the assessment processes to determine eligibility for a medical card, the Mobility Allowance and Supplementary Blind Welfare Allowance are service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly on these issues, as soon as possible.
616. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which home care support and access to resource centres for Alzheimer’s patients remains available in County Kildare; if any improvements are anticipated or in hand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47725/21]
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.
