Wednesday, 1 Jun 2022

Written Answers Nos. 201-220

Departmental Projects

Ceisteanna (201)

Peter Burke

Ceist:

201. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Health the status of a major capital investment (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28230/22]

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. 

Hospital Appointments Status

Ceisteanna (202)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

202. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) can expect a hospital appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28236/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Under 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.

Ambulance Service

Ceisteanna (203, 204)

David Cullinane

Ceist:

203. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the status of the intermediate care operator within National Ambulance Service (details supplied);; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28245/22]

David Cullinane

Ceist:

204. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if he will address a matter raised in correspondence (details supplied) in relation to intermediate care operative vehicles for the National Ambulance Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28250/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

I propose to take Questions Nos. 203 and 204 together.

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

Question No. 204 answered with Question No. 203.

Mental Health Services

Ceisteanna (205)

Mark Ward

Ceist:

205. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the number of referrals that were made to CAMHS in 2020, 2021 and 2022; the number that were accepted; and the number of referrals that were not accepted per CHO area, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28253/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Health

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

Vaccination Programme

Ceisteanna (206)

Gerald Nash

Ceist:

206. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Health the status of the Covid-19 second dose booster programme for persons under 65 years of age; when this age cohort will be offered an additional Covid-19 booster vaccination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28262/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Ireland's COVID-19 vaccination programme is based on the principles of safety, effectiveness and fairness, with the objective of reducing severe illness, hospitalisations and deaths from COVID-19 infection.

The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). The NIAC makes recommendations on vaccination policy to the Department of Health based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practices in relation to immunisation.

Following the recommendation for use of vaccines against COVID-19 by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and authorisation for use by the European Commission, the NIAC develops guidance for their use in Ireland which is contained in the Immunisation Guidelines for Ireland. These guidelines are continuously updated and include guidance on all new vaccines as they are approved for use in Ireland.

You can view the guidelines here: www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/hcpinfo/guidelines/covid19.pdf.

The NIAC has recently advised a second booster dose for people over 65 and people with a weak immune system aged 12 and over. The Committee will continue to examine emerging evidence regarding booster vaccines for others in the population where there is evidence of waning immunity and reduced effectiveness and will make further recommendations if required.

Departmental Reviews

Ceisteanna (207)

David Cullinane

Ceist:

207. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if the Health Research Board is conducting a scoping review for his Department on advanced practice physiotherapy grades and physiotherapists as referrers for the purposes of x-rays and imaging; if such a review is being conducted; the terms of reference for the review; the estimated timeline for the completion of the review; the details of the consultative process that will follow; if he will include an organisation (details supplied) in the consultative process once the review has been completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28280/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM (the BSSD), insofar as it relates to the designation of referrers, was fully transposed by the European Union (Basic Safety Standards for Protection Against Dangers Arising from Medical Exposure to Ionising Radiation) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 256 of 2018). These regulations designate those who may refer for radiological tests; nurses, doctors, dentists and radiographers are designated as appropriate.  

On behalf of the Department, the Health Research Board is undertaking an evidence brief titled Radiological Tests: Who can refer? What does the evidence say? An Evidence brief. An evidence brief is a type of literature review that is particularly suited to describing international approaches to health policy or implementation. This particular evidence brief aims to describe international policy and practice relating to referral for radiological tests in a selection of other jurisdictions which includes New Zealand, Canada (Alberta), England and Sweden.

The research questions include:

1. Describe which professionals permitted to refer/prescribe radiological tests (other than medical practitioner, nurses, radiographers, dentists). To include job titles, specific skills and qualifications to refer/prescribe radiological tests, monitoring and supervision arrangements in the selected countries.

2. With regard to the above professionals identify and describe the relevant Standard Operating Procedures, protocols, advanced clinical practice guidelines, or governance principles in place in the selected countries.

3. Identify and describe the advantages and disadvantages (risks) of the above professionals referring radiological tests as reported in the literature for the selected countries.

The evidence brief was requested by the Strategic Workforce Planning Unit in the Department of Health and is provided through an evidence synthesis service, operated by the Research Services and Policy Unit of the Department in collaboration with the Health Research Board (HRB), which is designed to support evidence-informed decision making in the Department of Health.

The timeline for delivery of a draft evidence brief report is in Quarter 3 of 2022. The evidence brief is a type of literature review, it does not include consultation with stakeholders in Ireland. The findings of this evidence brief will be considered by the Department before any subsequent actions are planned.

Hospital Waiting Lists

Ceisteanna (208)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Ceist:

208. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the number of persons waiting to see a consultant maxillofacial surgeon at St. James's Hospital; and the average waiting time to see the consultant. [28281/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. While significant work continues to positively impact on waiting times and improve pathways to elective care, acute hospitals have been impacted by operational challenges arising from surges in cases related to the Omicron variants.

The HSE has confirmed to the Department that 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 Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to identify ways to improve access to care, including through increased use of private hospitals, funding weekend and evening work in public hospitals, funding “see and treat” services, providing virtual clinics, and increasing capacity in the public hospital system.

The 2022 Waiting List Action Plan, which was launched on the 25th of February, allocates €350 million to the HSE and NTPF to reduce waiting lists. Under this plan the Department, HSE, and NTPF will deliver urgent additional capacity for the treatment of patients, as well as investing in longer term reforms to bring sustained reductions in waiting lists.

The plan builds on the successes of the short-term 2021 plan that ran from September to December last year. The 2021 plan was developed by the Department of Health, the HSE and the NTPF and was driven and overseen by a senior governance group co-chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Health and the CEO of the HSE and met fortnightly.

This rigorous level of governance and scrutiny of waiting lists has continued into this year with the oversight group evolving into the Waiting Lis Task Force. The Task Force will meet regularly to drive progress of the 2022 plan.

This is the first stage of an ambitious multi-annual waiting list programme, which is currently under development in the Department of Health. Between them, these plans will work to support short, medium, and long term initiatives to reduce waiting times and provide the activity needed in years to come.

In relation to the particular query raised by the Deputy, the attached document outlines the St James hospital maxillofacial OPD waiting list. The NTPF has advised that, the health system does not collect the data necessary to calculate average wait times.  In particular, the time to treatment of patients who have already received their care is not collected.  The NTPF collects data on patients currently on the waiting list and the average time that these patients have been waiting is provided here.

OP Maxillo-Facial waits

Report	ArchiveDate	HospitalName	TimeBand	Count
MaxilloFacial Outpatient SJH	28/04/2022	St. James's Hospital	0-6 Mths	350
MaxilloFacial Outpatient SJH	28/04/2022	St. James's Hospital	6-12 Mths	224
MaxilloFacial Outpatient SJH	28/04/2022	St. James's Hospital	12-18 Mths	171
MaxilloFacial Outpatient SJH	28/04/2022	St. James's Hospital	18+ Mths	1026

Row Labels	0-6 Mths	6-12 Mths	12-18 Mths	18+ Mths	Grand Total
St. James's Hospital	350	224	171	1026	1771
28/04/2022	350	224	171	1026	1771
Grand Total	350	224	171	1026	1771

ArchiveDate	HospitalName	SpecialtyName	Mean Wait(Days)	Median Wait(Days)
28/04/2022	St. James's Hospital	Maxillo-Facial	733	735

The health system does not collect the data necessary to calculate average wait times. In particular, the time to treatment of patients who have already received their care is not collected. The NTPF collects data on patients currently on the waiting list and the average time that these patients have been waiting is provided here.

Hospital Staff

Ceisteanna (209)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Ceist:

209. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the number of whole-time equivalent staff by job title working in the accident and emergency department of St. James's Hospital; the number of vacant whole-time equivalent staff by job title; when each of those vacancies will be filled in tabular form. [28282/22]

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.

Hospital Admissions

Ceisteanna (210)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Ceist:

210. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who were admitted to the George Frederic Handel ward at St. James's Hospital in 2019, 2020, 2021 and to-date in 2022, in tabular form. [28283/22]

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.

Hospital Waiting Lists

Ceisteanna (211)

Pat Buckley

Ceist:

211. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the urgency of tackling the waiting list for ophthalmology services in Cork University Hospital (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28284/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. While significant work continues to positively impact on waiting times and improve pathways to elective care, acute hospitals have been impacted by operational challenges arising from surges in cases related to the Omicron variants.

The HSE has confirmed to the Department that 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.

A key development in improving access to Ophthalmology services was the opening of a stand-alone high-volume consultant-led cataract theatre by the University of Limerick Hospital Group in Nenagh Hospital in 2018, with the intention that it would facilitate patients from surrounding geographical areas to avail of their treatment there. The impact of such initiatives can be seen in the reduction in the waiting times to access cataract procedures since 2018. At the end of December 2017 there were 8,027 patients waiting for a cataract procedure compared to 5,802 in April 2022.

The Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to identify ways to improve access to care, including through increased use of private hospitals, funding weekend and evening work in public hospitals, funding “see and treat” services, providing virtual clinics, and increasing capacity in the public hospital system.

The 2022 Waiting List Action Plan, which was launched on the 25th of February, allocates €350 million to the HSE and NTPF to reduce waiting lists. Under this plan the Department, HSE, and NTPF will deliver urgent additional capacity for the treatment of patients, as well as investing in longer term reforms to bring sustained reductions in waiting lists. Ophthalmology waiting lists are a particular area of focus of this plan

The plan builds on the successes of the short-term 2021 plan that ran from September to December last year. The 2021 plan was developed by the Department of Health, the HSE and the NTPF and was driven and overseen by a senior governance group co-chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Health and the CEO of the HSE and met fortnightly.

This rigorous level of governance and scrutiny of waiting lists has continued into this year with the oversight group evolving into the Waiting Lis Task Force. The Task Force will meet regularly to drive progress of the 2022 plan.

This is the first stage of an ambitious multi-annual waiting list programme, which is currently under development in the Department of Health. Between them, these plans will work to support short, medium, and long term initiatives to reduce waiting times and provide the activity needed in years to come.

Departmental Funding

Ceisteanna (212)

Róisín Shortall

Ceist:

212. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the reason that funding to mainstream, the headache pathway and the active neuro projects under the Sláintecare Integration Fund confirmed in November 2021 has not yet been released; if his attention has been drawn to the significant challenge in retaining and recruiting the specialist staff needed to deliver these initiatives in view of this delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28289/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

The Sláintecare Integration Fund project Towards Selfcare in Headache is delivered by the HSE Clinical Strategy & Programme Division. This project involves shifting the balance of care from the acute hospital setting and into the community by offering holistic, patient-centred care, at the lowest level of complexity. The purpose is to reduce the reliance on secondary/tertiary care, harness existing resources within the community network, and to promote a programme of self-care and self-management for those with chronic disorders. The target group for the project are patients with headache disorders.

The project has established new protocols for management of headache, that provide for trained nurse prescribers who work alongside neurologists with expertise in headache, and in collaboration with GPs, the Migraine Association of Ireland and local pharmacies.  85 pharmacists are participating in the programme and over 360 patients have been referred to community pharmacy.

Significant improvements in new/return ratio in the headache clinic in St James Hospital were observed. Following a successful evaluation, ongoing funding is being provided for this project in the participating hospitals. A letter confirming same issued on Friday 27 May 2022.

The Sláintecare Integration Fund project promoting physical activity programmes for people with neurological conditions in the community is a Section 39 project employing an integrated health care approach through physical activity programmes for adults with neurological conditions in the community in CHO 3 Area. The project is being delivered by MS Ireland in collaboration with the University of Limerick, Limerick Sports Partnership and Acquired Brain Injury Ireland. Active Neuro shifts the focus from rehabilitation for new onset or worsening of symptoms, to a health promoting physical activity model for prevention. Rehabilitation is available to some patients through the Community Neuro Rehabilitation Team in Limerick that offers multidisciplinary rehabilitation and the stroke unit at University Hospital Limerick has an early support discharge team that provides home based rehabilitation. The target group for this project are patients with progressive neurological conditions.

On-line interventions were delivered to 440 participants with strength maintained or improved in 82% of participants and an approximate reduction of 51 hospital bed days used. Following a successful evaluation, funding of €66k has been transferred to CHO 3 for this project. I can confirm a funding letter re mainstreaming of this project was issued on Friday 27 May 2022.

Medical Cards

Ceisteanna (213)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Ceist:

213. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Health the reason that different rates of funding are being paid in respect of wigs and hair pieces to medical card holders residing in different areas in the country; if he will provide a breakdown of funding, based on each local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28303/22]

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. 

Disability Services

Ceisteanna (214)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

214. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health the backlog to access network disability team services including diagnosis and treatment for autism by CHO region; his plans to clear this backlog; and the additional resources that have been allocated to NDT services. [28311/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Health

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

Disability Services

Ceisteanna (215, 216, 217, 218, 219)

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

215. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health the funding that has been allocated and spent in 2022 for additional residential services given that the Disability Capacity Review 2032 states that the additional minimum-scenario extra annual funding needed for demography only in 2022 for residential is €60 million, and the demography and unmet need for 2022 needed is €220 million. [28312/22]

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

216. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health the reason that there are only 52 extra beds provided in the disability budget for 2022 given that the Disability Capacity Review 2032 states that the additional extra residential beds at a minimum needed for 2022 is 300. [28313/22]

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

217. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health the amount of extra funding on the HSE Service Plan 2022 that was sought, allocated and spent to date to match the €80 million minimum requirement based on demography only for 2022 cited in the Disability Capability Review up to 2032. [28314/22]

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

218. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health the amount of extra funding on the HSE Service Plan 2022 that was allocated and spent to match the €350 million requirement based on demography and unmet need for 2022 cited in the Disability Capability Review up to 2032. [28315/22]

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

219. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health the amount of funding that has been allocated to the additional extra housing capital; and the amount that has been spent to date given that the Disability Capacity Review 2032 states that the additional extra housing capital that is required for disability services in 2022 based on demography only is €60 million. [28316/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Health

I propose to take Questions Nos. 215 to 219, inclusive, together.

The Department of Health published the Disability Capacity Review in July 2021. This report set out the capacity requirements for health-funded disability services for the period up to 2032. In order to drive the process of implementing the recommendations of the Capacity Review, a Working Group was set up to develop an Action Plan for Disability Services for the period 2022-2025. This Group, whose membership consisted of senior officials from the Departments of DCEDIY, Social Protection, Housing, Further and Higher Education, Health, and the Health Service Executive, has now completed its work and the draft Action Plan is currently being finalised for approval.

In respect of the operational matters raised in these questions, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. 

Question No. 216 answered with Question No. 215.

Question No. 217 answered with Question No. 215.

Question No. 218 answered with Question No. 215.

Question No. 219 answered with Question No. 215.

Covid-19 Pandemic

Ceisteanna (220, 227)

Cian O'Callaghan

Ceist:

220. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health the measures that are in place within the health system to treat persons with long-Covid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28319/22]

Steven Matthews

Ceist:

227. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Health the position regarding supports for persons suffering from long-Covid; if any consideration is being given to expanding the level of service available or the number of clinics that persons in this situation can attend; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28413/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

I propose to take Questions Nos. 220 and 227 together.

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to reply to the Deputy directly