Written Answers Nos. 813-835
813. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Health the number of in-patient hospital cancellations at Wexford General Hospital in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50942/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra814. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Health the number of outpatient hospital cancellations at Wexford General Hospital in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50943/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 813 and 814 together.
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 has advised 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.
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.
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.
815. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Health the number of operational beds at Wexford General Hospital in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50944/21]
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.
816. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Health the number of times the full capacity protocol was initiated at Wexford General Hospital in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50945/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the issues raised by the Deputy relate to operational matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
817. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Health if he received a request from persons (details supplied) to include all Members of Dáil Éireann from County Meath in a scheduled meeting concerning Navan hospital with persons following a Topical Issue debate on 28 September 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50947/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra818. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Health if he received correspondence from this Deputy and other Members of Dáil Éireann from County Meath requesting inclusion to a scheduled meeting concerning Navan hospital with persons (details supplied); if he responded to the correspondence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50948/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra819. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Health if the scheduled meeting took place between persons (details supplied) and him concerning Navan hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50949/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 817 to 819, inclusive, together.
I am acutely aware that any proposed changes to health services can be a source of great anxiety and worry for communities affected, and I am determined that any changes to the service at Our Lady’s Hospital Navan must be done in consultation with the local community. I have therefore instructed the HSE to pause in the planning of these changes in order to engage in consultation with elected representatives on behalf of local people.
822. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health his views on the budget measure of free contraception for women aged 17 to 25 years of age; if it includes long-acting reversible contraceptives, diaphragms, copper coil, the vagina ring, condoms and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50958/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government commits to providing free contraception for women, starting with the 17-25 age cohort.
Accordingly, funding for free contraception, starting with women aged 17-25, has been allocated in 2022. The initiative is gradually being introduced by age cohort, starting with younger women who are least likely to be financially independent and where cost has been shown to be a greater barrier to access contraception.
The scheme will provide for:
- The cost of prescription contraception (with the exception of the €1.50 prescription charge);
- The cost of fitting and/or removal of various types of long-acting reversible contraception and administration of contraceptive injections plus any necessary checks, by medical professionals certified to fit/remove same;
- The cost of training and certifying additional medical professionals to fit and remove long-acting reversible contraception;
- The cost of a maximum of two consultations per annum with GPs and other doctors to discuss forms of contraception suitable for individual patients and to enable prescription of same.
It is envisaged that a wide range of contraceptive options, currently available to medical card holders, will be made available through this scheme. This includes contraceptive injections, implants, various types of intrauterine system (IUS) or device (IUD; commonly known as the coil), the contraceptive patch and ring, and various forms of oral contraceptive pill.
In order to give time to bring forward the necessary legislative proposals and ensure the implementation of service delivery arrangements through the appropriate areas of the healthcare system, it will not be possible to introduce the scheme ahead of the August 2022 target.
In the meantime, it should be noted that those with a medical card already have access to most forms of contraception at minimal cost (subject only to the prescription charge), while those with a GP visit card are also supported to some extent as the clinical cost element of contraception is reduced. Furthermore, the Drugs Payment Scheme, for which anyone ordinarily resident in Ireland is eligible, covers the cost of prescription items, if these exceed the monthly limit, which will be reduced from €114 to €100 through measures included in Budget 2022.
Some access to free contraception is already enabled in some contexts. the National Condom Distribution Service (NCDS), which was established by the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP) in October 2015, functions as a central point for distributing free condoms and lubricant sachets to HSE services and other organisations working with individuals and groups at increased risk of negative sexual health outcomes. The NCDS currently distributes free condoms through 25 HSE locations, 27 higher education institutions and 44 non-government agencies.
It should be noted that, while oral contraception and various forms of long-acting reversible contraception can be more effective at preventing pregnancy, condoms provide protection against STIs that is not provided by non-barrier forms of contraception.
It is envisaged that continued expansion of the NCDS will be facilitated in line with demand, in order to support the STI prevention and sexual health promotion needs of people living in Ireland.
823. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health the stage of negotiations on the consultant contract; the number of vacant public consultant positions in the health service; and if a breakdown of vacant public consultant positions will be provided. [50959/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraCurrently a process concerning the proposed Sláintecare public-only Contract is in train between officials from my Department, the HSE and the consultants' representative bodies (the IMO and IHCA) under an agreed independent chair.
With these important talks ongoing, it would inappropriate for me to publicly pre-empt any potential outcome in relation to a specific date, save to say that I and my officials are fully committed to the Sláintecare vision, and to offering the new public-only contract to all consultants as soon as practicable.
Recent census data for the public health service shows that of over 3,500 whole time equivalent posts that are filled, about 2,750 are filled on a permanent basis, nearly 500 are filled under fixed term contracts and just over 250 under specified purpose contracts.
As it is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to revert to the Deputy with the further data sought on vacant consultant positions.
824. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health the plans he has considered to increase capacity at Cavan General Hospital to deal with likely emergency department overflows in winter 2021 to ensure that both scheduled and unscheduled care can take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50960/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the issues raised by the Deputy relate to operational matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
825. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the status of child specific waiting list backlogs for urgent scoliosis operations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50979/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI sincerely regret that children can experience a long waiting time for hospital appointments and treatment, and I remain conscious of the burden that this places on them and their families.
My priority as Minister for Health, and that of this Government, is to improve waiting times for all patients accessing hospital treatment, and reducing the paediatric waiting list for orthopaedic procedures remains a priority within that.
My Department, the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) are working on a Multi Annual Waiting List Plan to address waiting lists and bring them in line with Sláintecare targets over the coming years. This process will be overseen by a Ministerial Taskforce chaired by the Secretary General of my Department and including representatives from the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund. It will take the learnings from the achievements of the Vaccine Taskforce to inform the plan.
An additional €250 million is being provided in Budget 2022 to improve access to care across the health system.
It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last nineteen months as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently as a result of the ransomware attack.
The cyber-attack in May 2021 in particular, caused significant disruption to the orthopaedic service and all services across the Children’s Health Ireland Hospital Group. Children's Health Ireland advise that without access to a patient’s full history and previous diagnostic investigations, it was not considered safe to proceed without all electronic support systems in place. This impacted patients with complex needs in particular, and restricted the patient cohort that could safely proceed with surgery during this time.
Most systems are now back up and running across CHI sites, but back-loading of information is ongoing, and this continues to have an impact on waiting lists and the number of surgeries completed.
Despite the impact of the pandemic and the cyberattack Children’s Health Ireland advise that as of the end of September 2021, 266 spinal surgeries had been carried out which is an increase of 41 compared to the same period last year.
CHI remain committed to increasing activity levels and examining innovative methods to improve access to all specialities. For example, additional theatre sessions are being held in Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital, for non-complex, age-appropriate orthopaedic patients.
CHI also continues to develop the Advanced Clinical Triage clinic model in City West. Active Clinical Triage is a system which has been adapted for use within the paediatric orthopaedic unit at CHI Crumlin and its purpose is to reduce the overall orthopaedics out-patient waiting list, starting with the longest waiting clinically appropriate referrals.
A new Orthopaedic Consultant with a special interest in neuromuscular conditions started in Temple Street in September which should also enable the use of additional theatre capacity and support additional capacity as part of the Cappagh Kids programme.
Officials in the Department of Health remain in regular contact with CHI regarding scoliosis services. CHI have advised that all patients with a diagnosis of scoliosis require a pre-operative work-up prior to spinal surgery, including multiple diagnostic investigations and review by a multi-disciplinary team. The plan of care which is implemented for each patient is tailored to best meet the patient's clinical requirements. It is the responsibility of the treating Consultant to clinically prioritise patients for surgery on the waiting list.
826. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health his views on and the position regarding the committed funding to increase ICU beds and that figure in comparison to other European countries in terms of ICU beds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50980/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland has an acknowledged deficit in critical care capacity, as set out in the 2018 Health Service Capacity Review. This Government is committed to addressing this, as set out in the Strategic Plan for Critical Care which Government noted in December 2020.
The Strategic Plan fully addresses the recommendations of the 2018 Health Service Capacity Review for 430 critical care beds by 2031 and in fact surpasses that recommendation by setting out the intention to increase capacity to 446 over time.
Significant funding of €52m was provided in Budget 2021 to progress Phase 1 of the Strategic Plan for Critical Care. Further funding of €10.5m has been provided in Budget 2022 which will add a further 19 beds. This will bring the number of permanent critical care beds from 255 in 2020 to 340 by the end of 2022/early 2023. This represents a 33% increase, or an additional 85 beds funded since 2020.
The funding allocated includes education and training initiatives to increase the critical care workforce and for investment in critical care retrieval services.
827. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the clinical requirements for booster shots for Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50984/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 8 September, I announced an update to the Covid-19 vaccination programme following advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC).
The NIAC has recommended a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine (irrespective of whether the primary vaccination course was of an mRNA or adenoviral vector) for residents aged 65 years and older living in Long Term Residential Care Facilities and for those aged 80 years and older living in the community. The booster dose can be given after a minimum interval of six months following completion of the primary vaccination schedule.
I have accepted this advice and the HSE has made the necessary arrangements to operationalise these recommendations with the booster rollout now underway. The NIAC continues to examine emerging evidence regarding booster vaccines for those with waning immunity and reduced effectiveness in other groups.
828. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health if he will provide funding to appoint a clinical psychologist to each acute hospital diabetes multidisciplinary team; his views on the fact that psychosocial support in diabetes care is not formally embedded as part of diabetes management; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50990/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra873. Deputy Kieran O'Donnell asked the Minister for Health if funding will be provided to appoint a clinical psychologist to each acute hospital diabetes multidisciplinary team (details supplied); his views on the fact that psychosocial support in diabetes care is not formally embedded as part of diabetes management; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51226/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 828 and 873 together.
Diabetes is a complex condition that can have a profound impact on the quality of life of people living with the condition, the management of emotional and psychological well-being is an important part of diabetes care and self-management. Self-management education programmes such as DAFNE (for people living with type 1 diabetes) and DESMOND and Discover Diabetes (for people living with type 2 diabetes) help provide psychosocial support for many people living with diabetes.
The Model of Integrated Care for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes sets out that diabetes is to be managed within the acute system by the diabetes multidisciplinary team including access to psychology support where available. However, I acknowledge there is a deficit in the number of hospital staff providing psychological services dedicated to diabetes care.
The 2021 National Service Plan recognised the need for an unprecedented expansion of the permanent health workforce through permanent appointments. Funding has been provided for an increase to approximately 135,655 WTE across the health service by December 2021, which is an increase of 15,838 WTE over funded 2020 levels. There is significant workforce recruitment underway. The HSE Pay and Numbers Strategy identifies the specific roles and grades to be hired.
829. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a diabetes psychology resource to each community diabetes specialist team hub under the Integrated Model of Care for the Prevention and Management of Chronic Disease Implementation Guide; his views on whether access to psychosocial support in these teams should be made available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50991/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra874. Deputy Kieran O'Donnell asked the Minister for Health if a diabetes psychology resource will be provided to each community diabetes specialist team hub under the Integrated Model of Care for the Prevention and Management of Chronic Disease Implementation Guide; his views on whether access to psychosocial support in these teams should be made available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51227/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 829 and 874 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
830. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health if he will provide funding to appoint a 0.5 whole-time equivalent clinical psychologist to each acute hospital diabetes paediatric diabetes team; his views on whether psychosocial support in paediatric diabetes care should be available in each team; the reason there is no access to this support outside of paediatric diabetes services in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50992/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra875. Deputy Kieran O'Donnell asked the Minister for Health if funding will be provided to appoint a 0.5 whole-time equivalent clinical psychologist to each acute hospital diabetes paediatric diabetes team; his views on whether psychosocial support in paediatric diabetes care should be available in each team; the reason there is no access to this support outside of Dublin paediatric diabetes services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51228/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 830 and 875 together.
Diabetes is a complex condition that can have a profound impact on the quality of life of people living with the condition. The management of emotional and psychological well-being is an important part of diabetes care and self-management.
The Model of Care for Paediatric Healthcare, Chapter 23 Diabetes and Endocrinology (2015) outlines how Paediatric Diabetes Services should be configured regionally to ensure that each affected child and family has access to a trained multidisciplinary team in their region.
Current whole time equivalent (WTE) allocation of clinical psychology to paediatric teams nationally are as follows:
- 0.5 WTE CHI at Crumlin for paediatric diabetes
- 0.5 WTE CHI at Temple Street for paediatric diabetes
- 0.5 WTE CHI at Tallaght for paediatric diabetes
- 0.5 WTE Regional Hospital Mullingar for paediatric diabetes
- 1 WTE general paediatric psychologist in each of University Hospitals Cork, Limerick and Galway shared across paediatric services - not specifically appointed for care of children and young people with paediatric diabetes.
Where there are no mental health team members on the regional diabetes team, children are referred to services depending on their clinical presentation.
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) service provides support in the community for children and young people with moderate to severe mental health difficulties. Primary care psychology services and the Jigsaw service can also provide patients with support, although these services may not have clinical expertise regarding children and young people living with diabetes.
The 2021 National Service Plan recognised the need for an unprecedented expansion of the permanent health workforce through permanent appointments. Funding has been provided for an increase to approximately 135,655 WTE across the health service by December 2021, which is an increase of 15,838 WTE over funded 2020 levels. There is significant workforce recruitment underway. The HSE Pay and Numbers Strategy identifies the specific roles and grades to be hired.
831. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health if he will provide funding to appoint a clinical psychologist to the diabetes multidisciplinary team in Tallaght Hospital. [50993/21]
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.
832. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of Covid-19 vaccines that have been procured for Ireland including both vaccines administered and vaccines available for administration; the number procured by vaccine type, that is, manufacturing company; the number of vaccines which were not administered or used; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50996/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland has entered into seven Advance Purchase Agreements, subject to regulatory approval, for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccine from a range of manufacturers. Four vaccines have been authorised by the European Medicines Agency to date; Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech), Spikevax (Moderna), Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) and Janssen.
As of 17 October, over 7.4 million doses of the four approved vaccines have been administered since the programme commenced in December. More than 91% of the eligible population have now received a vaccine dose with in excess of 89% having been fully vaccinated.
The table beneath provides an overview of the quantity of vaccines by manufacturer administered in the vaccination programme.
Overview of Covid-19 Vaccine Administered by Supplier (In Millions)
|
Vaccine |
Doses Administered |
|
Pfizer/BioNTech |
5.3 |
|
Moderna |
0.57 |
|
AstraZeneca |
1.2 |
|
Janssen |
0.23 |
|
Total |
7.3 |
As the current phase of vaccination is nearing completion, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) has been examining evidence regarding booster vaccines. The vaccine booster programme is underway for residents aged 65 years and older living in Long Term Residential Care Facilities and for those aged 80 years and older living in the community.
The NIAC continues to examine emerging evidence regarding booster vaccines for those with waning immunity and reduced effectiveness in other groups. Ireland's existing contractual commitments for vaccines will be used to facilitate the continued rollout of the booster programme over the coming months.
Question No. 833 answered with Question No. 715.
834. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) can expect to be called for a procedure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50999/21]
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.
835. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health his plans to deal with the long delays for scoliosis surgery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51011/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI sincerely regret that children can experience a long waiting time for hospital appointments and treatment, and I remain conscious of the burden that this places on them and their families.
My priority as Minister for Health, and that of this Government, is to improve waiting times for all patients accessing hospital treatment, and reducing the paediatric waiting list for orthopaedic procedures remains a priority within that.
My Department, the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) are working on a Multi Annual Waiting List Plan to address waiting lists and bring them in line with Sláintecare targets over the coming years. This process will be overseen by a Ministerial Taskforce chaired by the Secretary General of my Department and including representatives from the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund. It will take the learnings from the achievements of the Vaccine Taskforce to inform the plan.
An additional €250 million is being provided in Budget 2022 to improve access to care across the health system.
It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last nineteen months as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently as a result of the ransomware attack.
The cyber-attack in May 2021 in particular, caused significant disruption to the orthopaedic service and all services across the Children’s Health Ireland Hospital Group. Children's Health Ireland advise that without access to a patient’s full history and previous diagnostic investigations, it was not considered safe to proceed without all electronic support systems in place. This impacted patients with complex needs in particular, and restricted the patient cohort that could safely proceed with surgery during this time.
Most systems are now back up and running across CHI sites, but back-loading of information is ongoing, and this continues to have an impact on waiting lists and the number of surgeries completed.
Despite the impact of the pandemic and the cyberattack Children’s Health Ireland advise that as of the end of September 2021, 266 spinal surgeries had been carried out which is an increase of 41 compared to the same period last year.
CHI remain committed to increasing activity levels and examining innovative methods to improve access to all specialities. For example, additional theatre sessions are being held in Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital, for non-complex, age-appropriate orthopaedic patients.
CHI also continues to develop the Advanced Clinical Triage clinic model in City West. Active Clinical Triage is a system which has been adapted for use within the paediatric orthopaedic unit at CHI Crumlin and its purpose is to reduce the overall orthopaedics out-patient waiting list, starting with the longest waiting clinically appropriate referrals.
A new Orthopaedic Consultant with a special interest in neuromuscular conditions started in Temple Street in September which should also enable the use of additional theatre capacity and support additional capacity as part of the Cappagh Kids programme.
Officials in the Department of Health remain in regular contact with CHI regarding scoliosis services. CHI have advised that all patients with a diagnosis of scoliosis require a pre-operative work-up prior to spinal surgery, including multiple diagnostic investigations and review by a multi-disciplinary team. The plan of care which is implemented for each patient is tailored to best meet the patient's clinical requirements. It is the responsibility of the treating Consultant to clinically prioritise patients for surgery on the waiting list.
