Written Answers Nos. 371-386
371. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health if discussions are expected to result in an increase to the dentistry treatments that are available to patients with medical cards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18906/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have acknowledged immediate issues of concern with the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS), which I am addressing as a matter of priority. Officials from my Department and from the HSE have held three rounds of discussions with the Irish Dental Association, the most recent on 2nd March when my Department and the HSE presented proposals to invest additional resources in the DTSS.
I have now given approval for significant fee increases to be paid to contracted dentists across a number of items, including the Dental Examination and Fillings. I have also approved the reintroduction of Scale and Polish for medical card patients on the DTSS. These new measures are designed to address access problems for patients, and address dentist’s concerns about the viability of the DTSS, while aligning the DTSS more closely with the Dental Treatment Benefits Scheme, which is widely operated by private dentists for PRSI patients.These measures should amount to an additional investment this year of about €26 million over what was spent on the Scheme in 2021. My Department and the HSE will work together to quickly implement the changes to the Scheme for the benefit of patients.
372. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a shortage of hormone replacement therapy in several pharmacies in areas (details supplied) in recent months; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that some women have been left with few options other than to travel to the Northern Ireland to source the treatment; the steps that have been taken and that he plans to take to address the unavailability of HRT; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18911/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnfortunately, medicine shortages have become increasingly prevalent worldwide over the past decade and are a feature of modern health systems around the world. There are many reasons for such shortages including shortages of raw materials, manufacturing difficulties, logistical/transport issues or product recalls due to potential quality defects.
Medicines shortages can therefore originate at any point in the supply chain and can involve and impact on many different stakeholders. Accordingly, medicines shortages require a multi-faceted, multi-stakeholder response to ensure patient safety, continuity of care and protection of public health. Ireland has a multi-stakeholder medicines shortages framework in place, coordinated by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), to prevent, wherever possible, and manage medicine shortages when they occur.
The HPRA is aware of the current challenges regarding the intermittent supply of some hormone replacement therapies (HRT). The HPRA has had regular and ongoing engagement with suppliers in this regard. The companies that place the products on the market have indicated that the current supply difficulties are due to a significantly increased demand for these medicines in Ireland in recent years. To illustrate, the supply of one range of HRT patches has increased by between 77% and 117%, for the three most-used strengths, compared to 2020. In addition, based on demand in recent months, the company expects a similar increase in the demand for all strengths during 2022. This would mean that the usage of this patch in Ireland would be approximately 4.5-7.5 times higher in 2022 (depending on the strength) compared to 2019.
Regarding the HRT patches, the suppliers have confirmed that they have increased the planned supply of HRT patches to Ireland during 2022 in response to this increased demand. In the case of one brand (Evorel/Evorel Conti), the supply of HRT patches has resumed. For another brand (Estradot), some strengths are available currently and, based on manufacturing availability, the re-supply of the full range is expected to be in July. With respect to the gels, Divigel was received by the wholesaler on 25th March and has been released for sale this week. An alternative gel product (Oestrogel) has recently gone short and is expected to resume supply in April. In the interim, the company is working to find solutions to the immediate supply issues.
The current supply situation has arisen due to significant increases in demand for HRT medicines and is not linked to regulatory matters. However, the HPRA continues to review available options within our regulatory remit to facilitate increased supply where at all possible. In particular, the HPRA has advised the companies that we are open to providing accelerated regulatory approval to supply a product originally intended for other markets if available. We are awaiting further information from the companies in this regard.
The HPRA publishes a medicinal product shortages list on its website, with the reason for the shortage, the expected dates for the return of supply and in some cases, such as HRT shortages, the HSE’s clinical guidance on the management of patient treatment in response to medicine shortages. The information is made available to assist healthcare professionals in managing medicine shortages when they do arise and reduce their impact on patients. The information relating to shortages on the HPRA website is dynamic and changes depending on the current information the HPRA has to hand, including removal from the list when a shortage has been resolved.
The HPRA will continue to liaise with suppliers of HRT medicines over the coming weeks with a view to securing updates and commitments regarding the restoration of normal supplies for patients as soon as possible.
373. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Health the steps his Department is taking to address the current issue of medical card patients unable to obtain a dental appointment since the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18939/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have acknowledged immediate issues of concern with the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTTS), which I am addressing as a matter of priority. Officials from my Department and from the HSE have held three rounds of discussions with the Irish Dental Association, the most recent on 2nd March when my Department and the HSE presented proposals to invest additional resources in the DTTS.
I have now given approval for significant fee increases to be paid to contracted dentists across a number of items, including the Dental Examination and Fillings. I have also approved the reintroduction of Scale and Polish for medical card patients on the DTSS. These new measures are designed to address access problems for patients, and address dentist’s concerns about the viability of the DTSS, while aligning the DTSS more closely with the Dental Treatment Benefits Scheme, which is widely operated by private dentists for PRSI patients.These measures should amount to an additional investment this year of about €26 million over what was spent on the Scheme in 2021. My Department and the HSE will work together to quickly implement the changes to the Scheme for the benefit of patients.
374. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a surgery (details supplied) that is no longer operating; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18944/22]
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.
375. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health the reason the ambulance service failed to respond to an urgent request for an ambulance relative to a person (details supplied); and the actions he will take to restructure the service which is not fit for purpose. [18953/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the information enclosed with the Deputy's question relates to a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
376. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Health if he will consider requesting the HSE to reimburse persons living in a nursing home who have been approved for funding under the fair deal, nursing home support scheme and in cases in which there is a delay in releasing funds leaving families to fill the gap. [18954/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFunding to support people to access services in the nursing homes sector continues to be provided in line with the long-established statutory mechanisms under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009. Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS) funding is currently released within four weeks of the application being approved, as per HSE National Service Plan 2022 commitments. In accordance with the 2009 Act, state support is only payable from the date funding is released. All NHSS applicants are advised in writing that funding will be available only from the date of funding approval, or admission to a registered nursing Home, whichever is the later. Many NHSS clients are in receipt of Transitional Care Funding to cover costs within this interim period.
Transitional Care Funding approvals to private nursing homes are funded separately to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme. Transitional Care Funding is a delayed transfer of care support to assist medically approved clients in Acute Hospitals applying for NHSS to be discharged into the nursing home of their choice, while awaiting NHSS funding release or for clients in acute hospitals who require a short period of convalescence before returning home.
As transitional care funding is to assist discharges in the Acute Hospital, ideally Transitional Care Funding should be applied for while the client is in the hospital. If a decision is made to apply for NHSS funding once the client has been discharged to the nursing home for convalescence, this requirement needs to be assessed by a multi-disciplinary team and a determination made on the Common Summary Assessment Report (CSAR) as medically requiring long term care. Requests for Transitional Care Funding when this occurs is reviewed and a decision is made on a case-by-case basis.
377. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if he will advise on a matter raised in correspondence (details supplied) in relation to the all-Ireland procurement and transplantation service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18962/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraOrgan Donation and Transplant Ireland (ODTI) maintain the list of patients awaiting transplant in Ireland. ODTI have advised that an individual can only be listed on one transplant waiting list at any one time, excluding patients from being both on the waiting list for Ireland and for the UK. This is based on the Declaration of Istanbul, and international agreement to promote fair and equitable access to organs.
ODTI have advised that they have a bilateral organ sharing agreement with NHSBT in Bristol, who are responsible for transplant waiting lists in Northern Ireland. In the event that there is no local suitable recipient for a donation organs are offered to both NHSBT and Eurotransplant, a transplant group covering a number of European countries.
The Department has previously met with our counterparts in Northern Ireland, and continues to work to progress links with Northern Ireland around organ donation and transplantation. A North/South meeting previously took place in 2021, with a further North/South workshop planned to take place in 2022.
378. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health the number of meetings that he and or his officials have had with an organisation (details supplied) since 2020; the number of dentists offering services under the medical card scheme in each of the past five years; the last occasion that dentists received an increase in fees for their service; if he plans to reform and modernise the scheme to allow dentists to refer patients for specialist treatments; if he plans to lift the restrictions on the way that treatments are provided and the materials that a dentist must use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18967/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere was continued engagement between my officials, the HSE and the dental community, including the Irish Dental Association (IDA) throughout the pandemic on infection control measures, guidelines for safe dental practice, and ensuring that dental professionals were included in the high-risk group for early vaccination. Officials from my Department and from the HSE have also held three rounds of discussions with the IDA, the most recent on 2nd March 2022 when my Department and the HSE presented proposals to invest additional resources in the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS), including €10m provided in the Budget, on top of the 2022 Estimate allocation of €56 million.I have recently given approval for significant fee increases to be paid to contracted dentists across a number of items, including the Dental Examination and Fillings. I have also approved the reintroduction of Scale and Polish for medical card patients on the DTSS. These new measures are designed to address access problems for patients, and address dentist’s concerns about the viability of the DTSS, while aligning the DTSS more closely with the Dental Treatment Benefits Scheme, which is widely operated by private dentists for PRSI patients. These measures should amount to an additional investment this year of about €26 million over what was spent on the Scheme in 2021. My Department and the HSE will work together to quickly implement the changes to the Scheme for the benefit of patients.The National Oral Health Policy, "Smile agus Sláinte" (2019) sets out the roadmap for the future provision of oral healthcare to the eligible population. It has two key goals; first, to provide the supports to enable every individual to achieve their best oral health, and second, to reduce oral health inequalities across the population, by enabling vulnerable groups to access oral healthcare and improve their oral health. My Department will be working with stakeholders to address the issues raised by the Deputy, implement the actions identified in the Policy and overcome the delays caused by the pandemic. I have asked the HSE to forward the requested data on the number of dentists participating in the DTSS to the Deputy as soon as possible.
379. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Health if he will examine a matter in which a person (details supplied) requires urgent dental treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18979/22]
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.
380. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 728 of 1 March 2022, if he will consider re-examining funding options for alternative venues for an exercise class (details supplied) given the positive impact that the classes have had on the health of older people in the community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18981/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
381. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health the status of the work of the infectious diseases clinical programme; the status of the establishment of a network of infectious diseases clinics; the number of such clinics established and operational to-date; the locations of all infectious diseases clinics, operational or planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18993/22]
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.
382. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 724 of 8 March 2022, if he will provide an itemised breakdown of the amount spent on vehicles purchased in 2020; the number and type of vehicles purchased; the details of each of the vehicles purchased and associated itemised costs in tabular form; the purpose of each purchase; the expected lifespan of the vehicle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18999/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra383. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 724 of 8 March 2022, if he will provide an itemised breakdown of the amount spent on computers in 2020; the number and type of computers purchased; the details of each of the computers purchased and associated itemised costs in tabular form; the purpose of each purchase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19000/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra384. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 724 of 8 March 2022, if he will provide an itemised breakdown of the sum spent on maintenance in 2021, in tabular form; the purpose of each purchase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19001/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra385. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 724 of 8 March 2022, if he will provide an itemised breakdown of the sum spent on other medical equipment in 2020 including the number and types of equipment purchased; the details of the equipment purchased and associated itemised costs in tabular form; the purpose of each purchase; the expected lifespan of the product; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19002/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra386. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 724 of 8 March 2022, if he will provide an itemised breakdown of the amount spent on medical and surgical supplies; the number and type of supplies and equipment purchased; the details of each of the purchases and associated itemised costs in tabular form; the purpose of each purchase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19003/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 382, 383, 384, 385 and 386 together.
As these are operational and service matters I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
