Written Answers Nos. 501-520
501. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú 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; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12434/22]
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.
502. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú 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; the reason that there is no access to this support outside of Dublin paediatric diabetes services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12435/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraDiabetes 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.
Budget 2021 and Budget 2022 provided funding for a large permanent expansion of the workforce, both for the shorter-term needs brought on by COVID-19 and the long-term needs to build capacity to deliver healthcare needs for the population. 2021 and 2022 have seen the largest and second largest annual increases in the workforce since the foundation of the HSE. Funding will continue to be provided in 2022 for the staffing requirements of the health service, staffing increases are determined by the healthcare delivery needs of the service areas providing care.
503. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health the status of the provision of 16 additional neurology nurses in Cork University Hospital (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12447/22]
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.
504. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health when the national medical card email address for Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas to make direct queries will become operational again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12453/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe HSE has confirmed that all phones lines (including the Oireachtas line) are fully functional since June 2021. The HSE has also confirmed that the Oireachtas email issue has now been rectified and emails are operating as normal.
505. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 379 of 4 November 2021, if he will detail his engagements regarding the decision by a body (details supplied) to invite e-cigarette manufacturers to submit their products for regulatory approval in order that they may be prescribed by general practitioners for those who wish to quit smoking; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12457/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI note the decision by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to publish updated guidance on the licensing of e-cigarettes as a medicinal product. I have had no engagements in relation to a similar approach here.
My current proposals on e-cigarettes are following the evidence provided to me by the Health Research Board in its 2020 analyses on e-cigarettes and related products. Those evidence reviews found that e-cigarettes are not harmless but are likely to be less harmful than tobacco cigarettes, that e-cigarettes are as effective as approved Nicotine Replacement Therapies for smoking cessation at 6 months and that e-cigarette use is associated with an increased likelihood of smoking in adolescents.
In alignment with this evidence the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill will require all retailers of e-cigarettes to be licensed and will prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to persons under 18. My Department will continue to monitor developments and the emerging evidence in relation to e-cigarettes.
506. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health his views on the waiting list for orthodontic appointments for children in County Kerry given the waiting list is presently between 3.5 to 5.5 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12460/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the recently published Department of Health waiting list plan initiative for 2022, €11 million in funding is to be made available for identified community initiatives, with a focus on orthodontics, primary care psychology and counselling in primary care. A further €9m is also included in the plan to support priority community areas with activity levels to be determined. Funding for these community areas will need to be specifically used to support additionality not currently funded through the HSE National Service Plan.
In 2021, the HSE commenced a new procurement that allows patients to have treatment with private Specialist Orthodontists. It replaces the previous procurement that ended in 2020. Under the new procurement the first patients were allocated to private Specialist Orthodontists in Q3 of 2021. By the end of 2021, 870 patients had commenced treatment under these arrangements.
The allocation of patients to private Specialist Orthodontists is continuing in 2022 and the HSE approved an orthodontic treatment waiting list initiative for Quarter 1 of 2022 that will see 750 Children and Young People assessed as Grade 4 who have been waiting over 4 years for treatment at a cost of €2.8m. In January, 261 children and young people have been taken off the orthodontics waiting list using private providers under this new procurement framework. The HSE are likely ready to commence the approval process in the coming weeks to continue the orthodontics waiting list initiative to the end of the year.
The HSE advise that children who are 16 or under have access to treatment through the HSE for emergency treatment.
507. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health the average cost per patient for orthodontic treatment carried out on children who were on the waiting list for time periods (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12461/22]
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.
508. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) can expect to be called for surgery in the Mater Hospital. [12466/22]
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.
509. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the number of staff currently employed by his Department; the current annual salary of the highest and second highest paid persons respectively, employed by his Department; and the various pay scales for persons working in his Department. [12478/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs of 31 January 2022, there were 689 employees (672 FTEs) employed in the Department of Health.
The highest paid role in my Department is Secretary General and the current annual salary for that role is €297,869 since 1 February 2022. The second highest paid is for those in roles paid at the grade of Deputy Secretary or equivalent.
Circular 04 of 2022 sets out the pay scales as of 1 February 2022 for general service grade civil servants working in my Department and is available on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s website at www.gov.ie/en/circular/ef515-application-of-1st-february-2022-pay-adjustments/.
510. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the waiting time for access to services following initial assessment by speech and language services in County Roscommon; if children are placed on a further waiting list following initial assessment or if they are given access to services straight away; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12495/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question relates to a service issue, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
511. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to establish a working group under the joint auspices of the National Dementia Office and the Integrated Care Programme to determine the needs and solutions to provide persons with Huntington’s disease and their families a good standard of care in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12505/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question relates to a service issue, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
512. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to the development of a Huntington’s disease specialist multidisciplinary team that could respond flexibly and dynamically, provide consistency over time and deliver planned and anticipatory care that seeks to minimise crisis for those with Huntington’s disease and their families in view of the fact that presently there is only limited specialist services in Beaumont Hospital and given the specialist service at Bloomfield Hospital is not accessible to most persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12506/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question relates to a service issue, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
513. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if a review of commissioning of long-term care for persons with Huntington’s disease will be undertaken whereby this review would address the needs of younger adults and those over 65 years of age and would benefit adults with other neuro-progressive conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12507/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question relates to a service issue, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
514. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to identifying a principal investigator and lead for clinical trials in Huntington’s disease in Ireland with the necessary infrastructure to be developed in order to participate in clinical trials; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12508/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question relates to a service issue, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
515. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to building further links with an association (details supplied) in order to integrate Ireland’s participation in clinical trials with other European partners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12509/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe issue of clinical trials and establishing connections with European partners is a matter for the HSE to comment on. Accordingly I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
516. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to a review of the way that Huntington’s disease is included in national strategies in view of the disease being a condition with multiple dimensions which does not sit neatly within one strategy whereby building links across strategic frameworks could help to improve the way services are delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12510/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have referred the question to the HSE for reply.
517. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to the development of a new work stream within the current National Clinical Programme for Neurology to establish the details of a model of care for Huntington’s disease affected families in Ireland that would fit within the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy and Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12511/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe establishment of a new work stream within pre-existing HSE programmes is a matter for the HSE and as such I have referred this question to the HSE for direct reply to the deputy.
518. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the direction that has been given to maternity hospitals in relation to the admittance of fathers and birthing partners to labour wards for the full length of birth with the removal of Covid-19 restrictions. [12513/22]
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.
519. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of each eating disorder mini hub team by CHO area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12519/22]
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.
520. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the status and cost of developing care pathways for persons with specialist eating disorder issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12520/22]
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.
