Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:1672. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of an application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42632/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraHealth Services
Ceisteanna (1672)
Freagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Vaccination Programme
Ceisteanna (1673)
Éamon Ó Cuív
Ceist:1673. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Health the steps that have been taken to procure and distribute vaccines (details supplied);; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42634/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
At this time, supplies of monkeypox vaccine in Ireland and in the EU are limited. Ireland, along with other EU countries, is actively exploring options to increase our medium to long-term supply of vaccines.
The Department of Health and the HSE have been working closely with the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) to secure additional vaccine doses. The first supply of vaccines procured by HERA and donated to Member States was delivered to Ireland recently. HERA has secured an additional supply of 54,000 doses of vaccine which are expected to become available in December 2022. The allocation of these additional doses is still to be determined. Separately, Ireland is participating in a European joint procurement exercise through HERA to boost Ireland’s medium-term supply.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Mental Health Services
Ceisteanna (1674)
Neasa Hourigan
Ceist:1674. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the basis on which Unit 3, St. Stephen's Hospital, Glanmire has been identified by the HSE as a suitable alternative facility for a centre (details supplied) for residents given the series of major concerns raised by the Mental Health Commission in recent inspection reports in respect of the staff culture, the premises and in addition, given the isolated nature of the setting compared with the centre and the dorm-style rooms in Unit 3; if CHO 4 mental health service management informed the Mental Health Commission that it was offering Unit 3 as an alternative facility to the centre residents prior to doing so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42635/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Mental Health Services
Ceisteanna (1675)
Neasa Hourigan
Ceist:1675. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the number of residents of a centre (details supplied) who have already transferred to other facilities who were able to avail of a trial placement before making a final move from the centre in each case without identifying the resident, the duration of the trial period and whether any residents returned to the centre from a trial placement. [42636/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Ceisteanna (1676)
Michael McNamara
Ceist:1676. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will be admitted to Galway University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42637/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Departmental Data
Ceisteanna (1677)
Michael Lowry
Ceist:1677. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health the number of children under the age of 18 years with an intellectual, physical or sensory disability currently referred and waiting to be seen by HSE disabilities and special needs services in County Tipperary broken down into North and South Tipperary in tabular form; the length of time that each child is on the waiting list; the type of service they are waiting to attend; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42650/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As the Deputy's question relates to a service issue, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Ceisteanna (1678)
Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:1678. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if an appointment for a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42654/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
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.
Hospital Staff
Ceisteanna (1679)
Michael Lowry
Ceist:1679. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health his plans to address the hours worked by support staff in community hospital settings (details supplied) as his attention has been drawn to a reduction of the working week to 37.5 hours has already been provided to all other grades such as, nurses, managers, clerical staff, physiotherapists and occupational therapists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42655/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.
Departmental Data
Ceisteanna (1680, 1681, 1682)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Ceist:1680. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Health the number of children that are currently receiving treatment from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services; and if he will provide the statistics for the same period in 2021. [42659/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Ceist:1681. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details on the national and county average waiting time for children waiting to see a clinical mental health professional with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in tabular form. [42660/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Ceist:1682. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a county overview of the number of children that are awaiting assessment by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service; and if he will provide details on the average waiting list in tabular form, broken down by county. [42661/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1680 to 1682, inclusive, together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Question No. 1681 answered with Question No. 1680.
Question No. 1682 answered with Question No. 1680.
Medicinal Products
Ceisteanna (1683)
Matt Shanahan
Ceist:1683. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Health if he has plans to provide funding in the upcoming Budget to fund the provision of the Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System to persons with diabetes over 21 years of age based on clinical need; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42664/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medical devices in the community drug schemes, 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).
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 3 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 between 4 and 21 years of age. 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.
The HSE requested that the NCPE carry out a full Health Technology Assessment (HTA) on Freestyle Libre, and the company, Abbott, were formally notified of this on 13 April 2021. Abbott had a scoping meeting with the NCPE in July 2021 and committed to submitting their HTA dossier by the 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. It remains open to Abbott to re-engage with the NCPE as they indicated they would in July 2021.
Recently, following a request from the HSE, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) held an initial meeting with the HSE Diabetes Clinical Programme to scope out what might be involved in undertaking a system wide HTA across diabetes care. In the absence of a full value assessment of the product to determine cost effectiveness or value for money, the HSE is not in a position to remove the current age restriction.
During the estimates process, deliberations as to the priorities to be progressed within the National Service Plan occur. It is not possible to say at this juncture whether additional funding of the FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring system will be provided.
Health Services
Ceisteanna (1684)
Matt Shanahan
Ceist:1684. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Health if he will ringfence some of the anticipated 2021 cost savings from the recent HSE Medicines Management Programme (MMP) Preferred Blood Glucose Strips for adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes evaluation to fund the provision of the Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System to persons with diabetes over 21 years of age based on clinical need; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42665/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Departmental Data
Ceisteanna (1685)
Matt Shanahan
Ceist:1685. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Health the number of applications for Freestyle Libre that were submitted by individual hospitals for persons with diabetes over 21 years of age; the number that were approved; the number that were refused in each of the years 2017 to 2021, in tabular form; if there are plans to remove the age restriction on Freestyle Libre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42666/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicines and medical goods, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013. The HSE also has statutory responsibility for the administration of the community health schemes. Therefore, this matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy, as soon as possible.
Medicinal Products
Ceisteanna (1686)
David Cullinane
Ceist:1686. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1629 of 26 July 2022, if there are no avenues for a dispenser-supplier, outside of the prescribed manufacturer-suppliers set in Schedule 3 of the HSE-IPHA Framework Agreement (2021) to apply or otherwise petition for the inclusion of a medicine or appliance on the long-term illness scheme; the reason there are any means by which a medical doctor, pharmacist, or other licensed prescriber may petition for the inclusion of a product on such schemes and reimbursement lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42670/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the administration of the community drug schemes; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
Health Services
Ceisteanna (1687)
Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:1687. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if a hearing-aid appointment for a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42677/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Proposed Legislation
Ceisteanna (1688)
Róisín Shortall
Ceist:1688. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the estimated timeline for the introduction of a statutory right to homecare, as outlined in the Programme for Government; the current status of the legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42680/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Programme for Government commits to ‘Introduce a statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes, which will provide equitable access to high-quality, regulated home care’.
Work is ongoing within the Department across three broad workstreams to progress this commitment:
(i) Regulation of home-support providers
The Department is currently developing a regulatory framework for home-support providers with the aim of ensuring that all service-users are provided with high-quality care. This framework will comprise primary legislation for the licensing of providers, secondary legislation in the form of regulations (minimum requirements), and HIQA national standards.
On 27 April 2021, Government gave approval to the Minister for Health to draft a General Scheme and Heads of Bill to establish a licensing framework for home-support providers. The Heads of a Bill are currently at draft stage, and it is intended to bring this legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas at the earliest opportunity.
In tandem to this, draft regulations setting out the minimum requirements a home support provider must meet to obtain a licence are also at an advanced stage. The Department has completed a targeted stakeholder consultation which has amended the draft regulations further. This has been enhanced by regular discussions with HIQA, HSE, Private Providers' representative groups and legal expertise assisting with legal text and interpretation of core issues, such as, capacity legislation, employment laws and health and safety issues. A 7-week public consultation concluded August 4th. The Institute of Public Health has begun to analyse responses and a report on the findings of the public consultation will be prepared for the Department of Health.
In addition to this, HIQA are in the process of developing standards for home care and home support services which will be the focus of a public consultation in September.
(ii) Funding of home-support services
The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) undertook a programme of work on behalf of the Department on the potential demand for, and cost of, home support which culminated in two reports.
This research will form an important part of the evidence base for the development of a sustainable funding model for home support services in the context of our ageing population.
An internal consultation process on a range of potential funding options is underway. Targeted external consultation will follow in due course.
(iii) Reformed model of service delivery
The Pilot for testing of a reformed model of service for the delivery for home-support is now fully operational. It commenced in November 2021 in CHO 8 and the three other sites CHO2, CHO 4 and CHO 7 became operational in January 2022. The interRAI outputs and pilot site evaluation will be critical to the development of the new home-support scheme. The pilot is expected to enter an evaluation stage in Q3 2022.
Recruitment of 128 Care Needs Facilitator posts has commenced to progress the national rollout of interRAI as the standard assessment tool for care-needs in the community. It is planned to have these posts in place by the end of Q3 2022.
The HSE will be undertaking a recruitment process for a number of key posts to support and enable the establishment of the National Home Support Office to be located in Tullamore. Funding is provided for 15 full time jobs including 9 Community Healthcare Organisation home support manager/coordinator posts. Recruitment of the Head of Service of the new National Home support Office has been advertised.
Nursing Homes
Ceisteanna (1689)
Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:1689. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to examine the rising costs for residents in nursing homes (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42685/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I am acutely aware of the specific challenges faced by the Nursing Home sector related to price inflation and increased energy costs. I have met directly with Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI), the representative organisation for private and voluntary nursing homes, most recently on Friday the 8th July. I updated them in detail on progress being made in relation to this matter. I have also met with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to request that they consider the matter alongside departmental officials. I have visited a number of Nursing Homes recently to discuss this issue with management of both public and private/voluntary nursing units. It is imperative that nursing homes manage potential cost pressures in line with their regulatory and contractual responsibilities, maintaining their quality of care so that residents’ lived experience and comfort is not affected. I hope to be in a position to revert to NHI again shortly following engagement with the Department for Public Expenditure and Reform.
Health Services
Ceisteanna (1690)
David Cullinane
Ceist:1690. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if teleconsultations are permitted within the free contraception scheme; if not, the reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42686/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Programme for Government, 2020 commits to providing free contraception for women, starting with the 17-25 age cohort. My Department has been working with partners, including the HSE, towards ensuring that the scheme will commence in September, 2022. Funding of approximately €9m has been allocated for this in Budget 2022.
The scheme will be open to all 17-25 year-old women ordinarily resident in Ireland and will provide for:
- The cost of prescription contraception;
- The cost of consultations with medical professionals to discuss suitable contraception for individual patients and to enable prescription of same. Consultations will include both initial discussions of suitable contraception for each patient, and necessary check-ups to provide repeat prescriptions;
- The cost of fitting and/or removal of various types of long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) plus any necessary checks, by medical professionals certified to fit/remove same;
- The cost of providing the wide range of contraceptive options currently available to GMS (medical) card holders, which will also be available through this scheme, including contraceptive injections, implants, IUS and IUDs (coils), the contraceptive patch and ring, and various forms of oral contraceptive pill, including emergency contraception.
- The cost of training and certifying additional medical professionals to fit and remove LARCs;
The legal framework for the scheme is provided by the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Act, 2022, which was enacted in July, 2022. It is envisaged that the Act will be commenced, and the scheme launched, once the Regulations setting the terms and conditions relating to the provision of services and fees, etc., are expected to be enacted later this week. It is envisaged that the scheme will go live next week (the week commencing 12 September 2022).
The Department of Health and the HSE are working with service providers in term of preparations for scheme commencement. It is typically the case that formal agreement with the main medical and pharmacy representative organisations is reached regarding the detail of service provision, prior to engagement with other smaller providers.
I can confirm that officials in the Department have contacted smaller specialist service providers, with a view to discussing possible engagement with the scheme and to discuss any issues they may wish to raise.
With specific regard to telemedicine, it will be necessary to have the provision of prescription contraception in this manner reviewed by clinical experts, prior to inclusion in the scheme. Advice from the relevant clinical experts has been sought in this regard. If the clinical advice is that it is appropriate in terms of patient safety, etc., for prescriptions for oral contraceptives to be issued through online consultations under a State sponsored scheme (i.e. without the ability to carry out physical checks using calibrated equipment, etc.), amendments will be required to the Regulations that will lay out the terms and conditions of scheme participation for providers, following negotiations with providers to agree these.
Completing these requirements may take a little additional time; therefore it may not be possible to include such providers in the scheme from the outset. However, their inclusion is being actively worked on and we are hoping to include these options as soon as the appropriate clinical and regulatory processes have been completed.
The design of citizen engagement information and publicity campaigns to support and promote the roll out of the scheme is currently being finalised by officials in the Department’s Press and Communications Team, the HSE’s Communications team and relevant subject matter experts in the Department and HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme.
The campaign will target 17-25 year olds with a broader reach to all adults through an extensive media engagement and outreach programme on broadcast and video on demand services; digital out of home advertising in a variety of locations including third level institutes, retail settings etc; targeted and an organic social media campaign. Digital information regarding the scheme and how to access it will be available through www.sexualwellbeing.ie shortly and contraceptive choices materials will be placed in GP surgeries from later in September.