Tuesday, 24 May 2022

Written Answers Nos. 597-619

Disability Services

Ceisteanna (597)

Martin Browne

Ceist:

597. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details regarding the parent consultation clinic invitations, which are being sent to parents by children’s disability network teams; if the purpose of the parent consultation clinic is to develop individual family service plans; when the parent consultation clinic was developed; the stakeholders that were involved in the development of these clinics; the specific reasons for the rollout of parent consultation clinics when other methods of developing individual family service plans have been available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25767/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Anne Rabbitte)

As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. 

Hospital Services

Ceisteanna (598)

Pa Daly

Ceist:

598. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health the amount of the HSE budget for 2021 that was returned or unspent from the South South West Hospital Group in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25785/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health (Deputy Stephen Donnelly)

The subheads of the Health Vote which pertain to HSE expenditure are not itemised down to the level of individual CHOs or Acute Hospital Groups. In overall terms a surrender of €394.2m, was effected to the Exchequer from the Health Vote at the end of 2021. Of this surrender €283.3m (€275.4m current and €7.9m capital) related to the Health Service Executive.

Health Service Executive

Ceisteanna (599)

Pa Daly

Ceist:

599. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health the HSE 2021 budget for capital spend, services and staff, respectively in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25786/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

The Health Act 2004 requires me to set the net non-capital and capital determinations for the HSE. In 2021, the final determinations, as revised, for the HSE were €20,642m for net non-capital expenditure and €985m for capital expenditure respectively. Within the net non-capital expenditure €8,894m was allocated as the budget for staffing.

Health Services Staff

Ceisteanna (600)

Michael Lowry

Ceist:

600. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that medical laboratory scientists who are members of an association (details supplied) took strike action on 18 May 2022 with further industrial action proposed for May and June 2022; his views on the call to have medical laboratory scientists on the same pay parity as their clinical biochemist colleagues; the steps that he is taking to avoid further industrial auction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25796/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge and pay tribute to the dedication, professionalism and commitment of all medical scientists throughout the country. Their drive and dedication have been key components in our managing of the pandemic.

I acknowledge the MLSA’s claim for pay parity between medical scientists and clinical biochemists. As you may be aware, the current public pay agreement, Building Momentum 2021-2022, includes the process of Sectoral Bargaining, to address outstanding claims such as this one. The MLSA were granted their own bargaining unit to progress this claim. The size of the Sectoral Bargaining fund available to the MLSA, and to all other cohorts of staff bound by this Agreement, equates to 1% of their basic pay. The MLSA and Health management have been engaged in talks over the last number of months with the aim of finding a way to advance their claim for pay parity through the Sectoral Bargaining process.

The Public Service Agreement Group (PSAG), comprised of union and civil service representatives with an independent chair, met on May 11th  to consider this matter.  They recommended that the matter be immediately referred to the WRC and that industrial peace be maintained in the meantime.

The Department of Health is disappointed that industrial action has been initiated by the MLSA and remains open to engagement with them.

As this is an ongoing IR matter, it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this point.

Health Service Executive

Ceisteanna (601)

Seán Canney

Ceist:

601. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a report into the operation of HSE MyOptions produced by a group (details supplied) which details severe inadequacies in the provision of information or counselling by staff on issues aside from accessing abortion; the way that he plans to address these concerns and ensure that MyOptions offers a full range of options to women in unplanned pregnancies, including counselling supports, information on social welfare entitlements and support programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25800/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As the Deputy’s question relates to a service area, I have referred this question to the HSE for direct response.

Health Services Staff

Ceisteanna (602)

Marian Harkin

Ceist:

602. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Health when pay parity will be restored for medical scientists following an expert panel report dating back to 2001 recommending pay parity with clinical biochemists and the ongoing pay negotiations since then; if he will provide an update on progress on these negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25811/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge and pay tribute to the dedication, professionalism and commitment of all medical scientists throughout the country. Their drive and dedication have been key components in our managing of the pandemic.

I acknowledge the MLSA’s claim for pay parity between medical scientists and clinical biochemists. As you may be aware, the current public pay agreement, Building Momentum 2021-2022, includes the process of Sectoral Bargaining, to address outstanding claims such as this one. The MLSA were granted their own bargaining unit to progress this claim. The size of the Sectoral Bargaining fund available to the MLSA, and to all other cohorts of staff bound by this Agreement, equates to 1% of their basic pay. The MLSA and Health management have been engaged in talks over the last number of months with the aim of finding a way to advance their claim for pay parity through the Sectoral Bargaining process.

The Public Service Agreement Group (PSAG), comprised of union and civil service representatives with an independent chair, met on May 11th to consider this matter.  They recommended that the matter be immediately referred to the WRC and that industrial peace be maintained in the meantime.

While the MLSA agreed to engage at the WRC, they have not agreed to lift their strike action which is a breach of Building Momentum.  This engagement between the parties took place on May 17th but, unfortunately, no resolution was reached.

While the Department of Health is disappointed that industrial action has been initiated by the MLSA, and that disruptions have been caused across the health service as a result of the day of strike action held on May 18th, Health Management remains open to engagement with the MLSA.

As this is an ongoing IR matter, it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this point.

Legislative Measures

Ceisteanna (603)

Robert Troy

Ceist:

603. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health the legislation in relation to persons under 18 years of age purchasing vapes and vaping liquids (details supplied). [25813/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

The Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill will prohibit the sale of nicotine inhaling products such as electronic cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18 years. The Bill is currently being drafted and it is intended that it will be enacted by year end. 

Mortality Rates

Ceisteanna (604)

Holly Cairns

Ceist:

604. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health his response to the high perinatal mortality rates among ethnic African mothers or expectant mothers living in Ireland as recorded in the perinatal statistics report 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25841/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As the national women and infants health programme leads on the management, organisation and delivery of maternity, gynaecological and neonatal services, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Mortality Rates

Ceisteanna (605)

Holly Cairns

Ceist:

605. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health if a group has been established by his office or any other institution under the aegis of his Department or the HSE for the purpose of carrying out investigations into maternal deaths; the rationale for same; the reason that such investigations are not conducted as a matter of course by HIQA; the budget allocated for this group; the source from which it is allocated; the way that the group is constituted; the membership and governance structures of the group; to whom the group reports; if the establishment of the group has been subject to approval by the Houses of the Oireachtas or the Cabinet; and when the reports and findings of the group will be made public. [25842/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health (Deputy Stephen Donnelly)

Serious adverse events in maternity care have a devastating impact on the families concerned. It is vital that our health services take steps to ensure serious adverse events in maternity care are appropriately reviewed and responded to at a national level.

The HSE’s Incident Management Framework was launched in 2018 and updated in 2020. The HSE’s Incident Management Framework is applied to the management of individual incidents and is the mechanism for incident investigations in the HSE, including maternal deaths. In line with the HSE’s Incident Management Framework reports relating to service user incidents are personal to the service user and their relevant person(s) and as such are not generally published.

In addition to these processes, the HSE Obstetric Event Support Team (OEST) is a new initiative which was established in 2022 to establish a team within the HSE’s National Women and Infant Health Programme (NWIHP) to provide objective oversight over a specified list of obstetric clinical incidents occurring within Maternity Networks. The OEST has an initial staffing requirement of 4 Whole-time Equivalents (WTEs) including a Clinical Director, Midwife and case managers. Funding of €540,000 was provided to support the establishment and expansion of the OEST from Budget 2022 through the Estimates process.

The aim of the OEST is to support the networks as they respond to the events in terms of overseeing and advising on appointment of the review panel, family engagement, conduct of the review, finalisation of the review report and follow up. In addition to assisting the health services in responding to severe maternity related incidents and in the provision of appropriate supports for patients and families, the OEST aims to ensure appropriate expert level support is available nationally by enabling learning from adverse maternity incidents to be actioned at a national level and by promoting engagement with relevant stakeholders across the maternity network. It is anticipated that this will lead to safer and improved high-quality of care for patients and families.

In relation to the Deputy’s query regarding Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). HIQA has developed the “National Standards for Safer Better Maternity Services”. HIQA have an associated monitoring programme and by their continued monitoring of services, HIQA acts to drive compliance with National Standards and promote quality improvement and shared learning.

Mortality Rates

Ceisteanna (606)

Holly Cairns

Ceist:

606. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health his views on the disproportionate representation of women of colour among maternal deaths deemed to be a result of medical misadventure in the period 2008-2022, following the recent death of a person (details supplied) in the care of maternity services at a hospital; if there are existing or planned initiatives to investigate and improve care for women of colour in maternity care services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25843/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As the National Women and Infants Health Programme leads on the management, organisation and delivery of maternity, gynaecological and neonatal services, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Disability Services

Ceisteanna (607)

Thomas Pringle

Ceist:

607. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health when a decision will be made on a personal care package application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25857/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Anne Rabbitte)

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Medical Aids and Appliances

Ceisteanna (608)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

608. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health when a child (details supplied) will receive an insulin pump that they have been waiting for over a year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25879/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible. 

General Practitioner Services

Ceisteanna (609)

Paul Murphy

Ceist:

609. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if his Department will urgently issue guidance to general practitioners around the country that exercise should not be recommended to patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis or long-Covid where protein-energy malnutrition is a feature, following the publication of guidelines from an organisation (details supplied). [25893/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Health Services

Ceisteanna (610)

Paul Murphy

Ceist:

610. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the lack of services that are available to both children and adults with myalgic encephalomyelitis; and the actions that the HSE will take to rectify this. [25894/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Abortion Services

Ceisteanna (611)

Michael Collins

Ceist:

611. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Health the names of the institutes and of the academic researchers in a university (details supplied) that recently received the tender to conduct research into the views of abortion providers as part of the review of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25896/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 was signed into law on 20 December 2018 and commenced on 1 January 2019. Under section 7 of the Act, a review of the operation of the Act must be initiated within three years of the commencement of the Act, i.e., before January 2022. 

The Review is being led by an independent Chair and comprises of 2 main phases. As part of the first phase of the Review, information and evidence on the operation of the Act will be collected. There are 3 elements within the first phase of the Review; service user research, service provider research and public consultation. The second phase of the Review is being led by an independent Chair who will assess the extent to which the objectives of the 2018 Act have been achieved, analysing in that regard the findings of the three strands of information. The Minister for Health appointed Ms Marie O’Shea B.L. as the independent Chair of the Review.

A request for tender to carry out the research into the views of service providers was published on eTenders in December 2021. The objective of this research is to capture the views and experiences of service providers and will be a key input to the Review of the operation of the 2018 Act. Following this procurement process the contract for this important research was awarded to Manchester Metropolitan University.

The project will be led by Dr Deirdre Duffy and supported by a team of researchers (from Manchester Metropolitan University and Maynooth University) as well as special advisors with substantial experience and knowledge of the context and organisation of abortion services in Ireland under the Health (Regulation of Termination) Act 2018. 

Question No. 612 answered with Question No. 570.

Primary Care Centres

Ceisteanna (613)

Gino Kenny

Ceist:

613. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health the status of the long-awaited and urgently needed primary care centre for north Clondalkin, Dublin 22; if the project delay due to the issue regarding the transfer of the Collinstown Park site to the HSE from the Department of Education has been resolved (details supplied); the date for the construction of the primary centre; the proposed timeline for its completion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25909/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.

Disability Services

Ceisteanna (614)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

614. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to amending the Disability Act 2005 to enable children that need additional supports to have a right in law to appropriate services and not just an entitlement to an assessment of needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25932/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Anne Rabbitte)

There are currently no plans to progress a review of the Disability Act, although the Department does keep its legislative programme under ongoing review.  

In the context of improving services, there is ongoing engagement between the  Department of Health and the HSE in order to bolster the capacity of the respective Children's Disability Network Teams throughout the country, in order to provide Assessments of Need and quicker access to therapy supports.

In this regard, HSE recruitment for therapy posts continues and there is ongoing engagement with the Heads of Disability Services across the nine CHOs to review service provision. In parallel, detailed discussions are ongoing with relevant stakeholders and representative groups in relation to a revised approach to the Assessment of Need, one which seeks to be both legally compliant and ensure a timely pathway to therapeutic interventions.

Dental Services

Ceisteanna (615)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

615. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if he will address the case of a person (details supplied) regarding implants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25935/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Medical Aids and Appliances

Ceisteanna (616)

Martin Browne

Ceist:

616. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to expand the availability of the freestyle libre device for persons with diabetes in Ireland. [25937/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicines and medical items, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013.  

In making a relevant reimbursement decision, the HSE is required under the 2013 Act to have regard to a number of criteria including clinical efficacy, the health needs of the public, cost effectiveness and potential or actual budget impact. HSE decisions on which medicines and medical items are reimbursed by the taxpayer are made on objective, scientific and economic grounds, on the advice of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE). The Minister for Health has no role in these decisions.

Currently, Consultant Endocrinologists may apply to the HSE, on behalf of specific patients with Type 1 Diabetes, for reimbursement support of FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring (FGM) sensors. The application process is undertaken by means of a dedicated online portal, which has been operational since 3rd April 2018.  In line with the recommendations of the Health Technology Assessment Group, access to this product was made available to children and young adults, aged 4 - 21 years. The online application process does cater for the Consultant to make an application in very exceptional circumstances for a type 1 diabetic patient who is over 21 years of age.

In order to conduct a value assessment, the HSE requested that NCPE carry out a full Health Technology Assessment (HTA) on Freestyle Libre. The company, Abbott, were formally notified of this on 13 April 2021. Abbott a scoping meeting with the NCPE in July 2021 and committed to submitting their HTA dossier for end of October 2021. However, on 15 November 2021, Abbott informed the HSE that they would not be submitting the HTA dossier because they did not have the level of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) evidence that they stated was required for a full HTA process. Despite the HSE emphasising the importance of engaging with the HTA process to progress matters, the company have not submitted a HTA dossier to date.

The HSE has written to Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to ask if HIQA can consider a system wide HTA across diabetes care. The HSE await the outcome of this request. In the absence of a full value assessment of the product, the HSE cannot progress matters further at the moment.

Departmental Funding

Ceisteanna (617)

David Cullinane

Ceist:

617. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the total amount of funding allocated for the Cork and Kerry region to date; the amount allocated to hospitals and CHOs inclusive of section 38 and 39 organisations in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25939/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible

Dental Services

Ceisteanna (618)

Brendan Griffin

Ceist:

618. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health the status of the review of the dental treatment services scheme for medical card holders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25947/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

The Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) is the national dental scheme for medical card holders over the age of 16. Services are provided by private dentists who hold a contract with the HSE. Following consultation with the Irish Dental Association, I gave approval on the 13th of April, for the implementation of new measures to provide for both expanded dental health care for medical card holders and increased fees for dental contractors in the hope that more dentists will see more medical card patients.

The changes to the Scheme came into effect from the beginning of May 2022.

These changes to the Scheme are interim measures designed to secure services for medical card holders pending a more substantive reform of dental services to align with the National Oral Health Policy. Work on that longer-term project has already commenced.

Health Services Staff

Ceisteanna (619)

Pádraig MacLochlainn

Ceist:

619. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the reason that there is no pay parity between clinical scientists and medical laboratory scientists given that both professions perform the same duties often working side by side in the same laboratory. [25950/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge and pay tribute to the dedication, professionalism and commitment of all medical scientists throughout the country. Their drive and dedication have been key components in our managing of the pandemic.

I acknowledge the MLSA’s claim for pay parity between medical scientists and clinical biochemists. As you may be aware, the current public pay agreement, Building Momentum 2021-2022, includes the process of Sectoral Bargaining, to address outstanding claims such as this one. The MLSA were granted their own bargaining unit to progress this claim. The size of the Sectoral Bargaining fund available to the MLSA, and to all other cohorts of staff bound by this Agreement, equates to 1% of their basic pay. The MLSA and Health management have been engaged in talks over the last number of months with the aim of finding a way to advance their claim for pay parity through the Sectoral Bargaining process.

The Public Service Agreement Group (PSAG), comprised of union and civil service representatives with an independent chair, met on May 11th  to consider this matter.  They recommended that the matter be immediately referred to the WRC and that industrial peace be maintained in the meantime.

While the MLSA agreed to engage at the WRC, they have not agreed to lift their strike action which is a breach of Building Momentum.  This engagement between the parties took place on May 17th but, unfortunately, no resolution was reached.

The Department of Health is disappointed that industrial action has been initiated by the MLSA and remains open to engagement with them.

As this is an ongoing IR matter, it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this point.