Written Answers Nos. 454-464
454. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health the current average turnaround times for breast cancer gene laboratory results for predictive BRCA patients once reviewed in clinic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31381/22]
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.
455. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health the current criteria for patients to access the cancer genetics clinic in St. James’s Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31382/22]
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.
456. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health the number of patients who are awaiting a genetic counselling appointment in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31383/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt 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 List 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, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
457. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health the average wait time for a patient to access a genetic counsellor in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31384/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt 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 List 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, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
458. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health the medical settings to which positive breast cancer gene patients of Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, are referred for surgical opinions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31385/22]
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.
459. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Health the number of patients who tested positive for breast cancer gene one and two in 2020 and 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31386/22]
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.
460. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health if discussions are expected to allow persons who are on a waiting list for urgent cataract operations to avail of the same refund if they go to a private consultant in their own area of choice instead of travelling abroad under the Cross-Border Directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31393/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Health Act 1970 (as amended) provides for two categories of eligibility for persons ordinarily resident in the country, i.e. full eligibility (medical card holders) and limited eligibility (all others). Adults with full eligibility can access a range of services including GP services, prescribed drugs and medicines, all in-patient public hospital services in public wards, including consultants’ services, all out-patient public hospital services including consultants’ services, dental, ophthalmic and aural services and appliances, and maternity and infant care service. Persons with limited eligibility are eligible for in-patient and outpatient public hospital services including Consultant services, Emergency Department or minor injury care, are subject to certain charges. Other services such as allied healthcare professional services may also be made available to persons with limited eligibility. The EU Cross Border Directive (CBD) provides rules for the reimbursements to patients of the cost of receiving treatment abroad, where the patient would be entitled to such treatment in their home Member State, and supplements the rights that patients already have at EU level. The CBD enables persons resident in the State to access and be reimbursed for healthcare in another Member State by the HSE, provided such healthcare is publicly available within Ireland. Where a person accesses private healthcare in Ireland there is no facility for the cost of that care to be reimbursed by the public health system. Regarding cataract waiting lists, the 2022 Waiting List Action Plan was launched on 25 February this year. The Plan allocates €350 million to the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to reduce waiting lists by 18 percent this year which will bring the number of people waiting to their lowest point in five years. Public hospitals will be supported by the NTPF in a number of different ways, including funding the operation of cataract clinics in the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital and in Nenagh General Hospital. While the NTPF will seek to arrange over 150 different types of procedures in public and private hospitals, covering the full range of complexity on the waiting lists, there will be a particular focus on 15 procedures which, prior to NTPF engagement, accounted for more than 50% of the inpatient/day case waiting list. For the 15 high volume procedures, including cataracts, the NTPF will offer treatment for all clinically suitable patients waiting more than 6 months.
461. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which all extra and promised Covid-19 related payments to front-line staff have been paid to those to whom it was promised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31396/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFirstly I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all healthcare workers for their efforts during this most challenging period.
On January 19th, the Government announced a COVID-19 pandemic recognition payment for frontline public sector healthcare workers, to recognise their unique role during the pandemic. Following extensive engagement with healthcare unions on the matter, on 19th April the HSE published eligibility guidelines and FAQs, as apply to the HSE and Section 38 agencies, which are available on its website: www.hse.ie/eng/staff/resources/hr-circulars/hr-circular-012-2022-pandemic-special-recognition-payment.html.
Latest available figures from the HSE show that at 3 June 2022, 26,090 eligible HSE staff were paid, to a value of €25,165,600. This does not include Section 38 organisations, of which the HSE is aware that a number have made the payment (and has requested figures from other organisations):
- Beaumont Hospital
- Mercy University Hospital Cork
- Rotunda Hospital
- South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital Cork
The HSE and the Department are currently examining progressing the rollout to the list of 6 non-HSE/non-Section 38 organisation types covered by the Government Decision. Rolling out the payment to eligible non-HSE and non-Section 38 employees is a complex task, particularly as these employees are not normally paid by the public health service, duplicate payments need to be avoided, and there are many organisations to be covered.
Officials in the Department and the HSE are prioritising the work needed to progress this. It is hoped that information will be published shortly for those certain non-HSE/S38 healthcare employees that are covered by the Government Decision and the process available to their employers to implement this measure for their eligible staff. This shall cover eligible staff in:
1. Private Sector Nursing Homes and Hospices (e.g. Private, Voluntary, Section 39 etc.);
2. Eligible staff working on-site in Section 39 long-term residential care facilities for people with disabilities;
3. Agency roles working in the HSE;
4. Health Care Support Assistants (also known as home help / home care / home support) contracted to the HSE;
5. Redeployed members of Department of Defence to work in frontline Covid-19 exposed environments for the HSE;
6. Paramedics employed by the Department of Local Government, Housing and Heritage.
462. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health if the HSE is intent on providing funding for day expenditure for the running of a facility (details supplied). [31400/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
463. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31418/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn January 19th, the Government announced a COVID-19 pandemic recognition payment for frontline public sector healthcare workers, to recognise their unique role during the pandemic. Following extensive engagement with healthcare unions on the matter, on 19th April the HSE published eligibility guidelines and FAQs, as apply to the HSE and Section 38 agencies, which are available on its website: www.hse.ie/eng/staff/resources/hr-circulars/hr-circular-012-2022-pandemic-special-recognition-payment.html.
The HSE and the Department are currently examining progressing the rollout to the list of 6 non-HSE/non-Section 38 organisation types covered by the Government Decision. Rolling out the payment to eligible non-HSE and non-Section 38 employees is a complex task, particularly as these employees are not normally paid by the public health service, duplicate payments need to be avoided, and there are many organisations to be covered.
Officials in the Department and the HSE are prioritising the work needed to progress this. It is hoped that information will be published shortly for those certain non-HSE/S38 healthcare employees that are covered by the Government Decision and the process available to their employers to implement this measure for their eligible staff. This shall cover eligible staff in:
1. Private Sector Nursing Homes and Hospices (e.g. Private, Voluntary, Section 39 etc.);
2. Eligible staff working on-site in Section 39 long-term residential care facilities for people with disabilities;
3. Agency roles working in the HSE;
4. Health Care Support Assistants (also known as home help / home care / home support) contracted to the HSE;
5. Redeployed members of Department of Defence to work in frontline Covid-19 exposed environments for the HSE;
6. Paramedics employed by the Department of Local Government, Housing and Heritage.
464. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) will be given a date to have an operation in Tallaght Hospital. [31450/22]
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.
