Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021
1091. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health if the necessary funding will be provided for the resumption of the national diabetes register Sláintecare project as a priority; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that approximately 10% of the HSE annual budget is spent on diabetes care (details supplied). [53204/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn September 2019 Sláintecare Integration funding was allocated to the HSE to design and procure a National Diabetes Registry demonstrator product and develop a full specification plan for a National Diabetes Registry.
The development of a National Diabetes Registry will have a long-term benefit on
- Patient care by facilitating benchmarking of individual care against guideline recommendations and QI feedback to practitioners.
- Provision of appropriate health services by providing reliable information to healthcare planners and policymakers.
This project was paused as it was dependent on the input and expertise of key HSE staff who were redeployed onto urgent on-going COVID-19 work. This project remains a priority and, subject to COVID-19, will be revisited in the future.
I acknowledge that Diabetes is a significant issue and driver of health expenditure. In this regard, the 2019 GP Agreement introduced the chronic disease management programme for adult GMS patients who have one or more specific chronic diseases, of which Type 2 Diabetes is one.
For the first time we are seeing the delivery of structured care on a large scale for patients with chronic conditions in a primary care setting. Patients with an existing diagnosis of one of the specified chronic conditions, and those who are assessed by their GP on an opportunistic case finding basis, as well as those identified as high risk, will benefit under the programme. It is estimated that over 430,000 medical card and GP visit card patients will benefit from the programme when it is fully implemented.
The programme focuses on prevention, patient empowerment, early diagnosis and intervention, multi-morbidity and the provision of care as close to home as possible. The aim of the programme is to reduce morbidity and mortality from non-communicable diseases.
