Mark Ward
Ceist:716. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health if a guarantee be given that no CAMHS beds will be closed in a facility (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4561/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraMental Health Services
Ceisteanna (716)
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.
Health Services
Ceisteanna (717)
Robert Troy
Ceist:717. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health the reason that under-16s cannot currently be referred for a free MRI through the HSE; and if he plans to rectify this anomaly with immediate action. [4562/23]
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.
Health Services
Ceisteanna (718)
Robert Troy
Ceist:718. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if a patient (details supplied), who is under 16 years of age, can be referred for a free MRI through the HSE. [4563/23]
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.
Medicinal Products
Ceisteanna (719)
Mark Ward
Ceist:719. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a report on the prescribing practices for risperidone, the number of children prescribed the drug, the average prescribed dose; the number of adults prescribed risperidone, the average prescribed dose in each of the past ten years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4566/23]
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.
Medicinal Products
Ceisteanna (720)
Mark Ward
Ceist:720. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a report on the prescribing practices for risperidone; the average length of time a child is on this medication, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4567/23]
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.
Care of the Elderly
Ceisteanna (721)
Fergus O'Dowd
Ceist:721. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health if he will establish an independent commissioner for aging and older people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4571/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Government is committed to supporting healthy and positive ageing as well as to ensuring that older persons can continue to live independently in their homes and communities for as long as possible.
Acknowledging the disproportionately negative impact of the pandemic on older persons, the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future (2020) commits to the establishment of a commission on care that will ‘assess how we care for older people and examine alternatives to meet the diverse needs of our older citizens’, learning the lessons from COVID 19.
In 2022 preliminary desk research was undertaken within the Department of Health in preparation for the establishment of a commission on care. In 2023 the scoping and planning for the commission on care (inclusive of timelines) will be further advanced as a priority. While, accordingly, the scope of the commission has yet to be determined, it is envisaged that consideration of matters such as whether there is a need to establish an independent commissioner for ageing and older people will fall within the commission’s remit.
General Practitioner Services
Ceisteanna (722)
Catherine Murphy
Ceist:722. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health the reason a GMS panel might be frozen when a doctor relocates retires or resigns from the GMS scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4629/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Under the GMS scheme, the HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. Where a vacancy arises in a practice with a GMS contract, the HSE becomes actively involved in the selection process to find a replacement GP.
GMS panels may be frozen prior to a post becoming vacant and for a period of 3 months after the vacant post has been filled. This helps ensure that the GMS list does not diminish and is still attractive to entice a new GP to apply for the vacant position permanently and to make the panel viable.
After the period concerned, GMS patients may apply to change their GP in the normal fashion through the HSE website.
General Practitioner Services
Ceisteanna (723, 724)
Catherine Murphy
Ceist:723. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health the number of GMS panels frozen by county in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4630/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraCatherine Murphy
Ceist:724. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health the number of GMS panels by town in County Kildare that are currently frozen; the duration of the freeze; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4631/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 723 and 724 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. 724 answered with Question No. 723.
General Practitioner Services
Ceisteanna (725)
Joe O'Brien
Ceist:725. Deputy Joe O'Brien asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the severe shortage of available spaces on GP lists in north County Dublin; the steps that his Department is taking to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4636/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
GPs are self-employed practitioners and therefore may establish practices at a place of their own choosing. There is no prescribed ratio of GPs to patients and the State does not regulate the number of GPs that can set up in a town or community.
Under the GMS scheme, the HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. Currently there are 2,533 GPs contracted to provide services under the GMS Scheme. Where a vacancy arises in a practice with a GMS contract, the HSE becomes actively involved in the recruitment process to find a replacement GP. As of the 1st of January, 32 GMS panels (or just over 1%) are vacant, and there are four GMS vacancies in Dublin North.
Where a person who holds a medical card or GP visit card experiences difficulty in finding a GP to accept them as a patient, the person concerned having unsuccessfully applied to at least three GPs in the area (or fewer if there are fewer GPs in the area) can apply to the HSE National Medical Card Unit which has the power to assign that person to a GP's GMS patient list.
People who do not hold a medical card or GP visit card access GP services on a private basis and can make enquiries directly to any GP practice they wish to register with. As private contractors, it is a matter for each individual GP to decide whether to accept additional private patients.
The Government is aware of the workforce issues currently facing general practice and is working to ensure patients across the country continue to have access to GP services and that general practice is sustainable in all areas into the future.
Under the 2019 GP Agreement additional annual expenditure provided for general practice has been increased now by €211.6m. This provides for significant increases in capitation fees for participating GMS GPs, and new fees and subsidies for additional services. Improvements to GP’s maternity and paternity leave arrangements, increased rural practice supports and a support for GPs in disadvantaged urban areas, have also been provided for.
In addition, a steady increase has been seen in the number of doctors entering GP training over recent years, rising from 120 in 2009 to 258 in 2022. Working with the ICGP, it is aimed to have 350 training places available for new entrants per year by 2026.
These measures will see an increase in the number of GPs working in the State, improving access to GP services for patients throughout the country.
Furthermore, due to commence shortly, a strategic review of GP services will be completed this year. The review, with input from key stakeholders, will examine the broad range of issues affecting general practice and will set out the measures necessary to deliver a sustainable general practice into the future.
Covid-19 Pandemic Supports
Ceisteanna (726)
Brendan Griffin
Ceist:726. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if he will provide clarification on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4637/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
I would also like to remind the Deputy that it is against Department policy to comment on individual cases.
Mental Health Services
Ceisteanna (727)
Imelda Munster
Ceist:727. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Health the number of staff vacancies in mental health services and associated services in the HSE that are in the north east, broken down by grade and category in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4650/23]
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.
Medicinal Products
Ceisteanna (728, 729)
Maurice Quinlivan
Ceist:728. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health the number of suppliers of the contraceptive pill that have not yet signed up for the HSE’s contraceptive reimbursement scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4657/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraMaurice Quinlivan
Ceist:729. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health if a scheme can be put in place to enable women whose contraceptive pill suppliers have not signed up to the HSE reimbursement scheme to apply for reimbursement on an individual basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4658/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 728 and 729 together.
The free contraception scheme for women was launched in September 2022, initially for women aged 17-25 who are ordinarily resident in Ireland. The scheme has now been expanded to include 26-year-olds since January 1st, 2023, and will be expanded further, in September, to include women aged 30 and under.
Funding through Budget 2023 was also provided to expand the scheme to 16 year-olds, but this is subject to consultation across Government, legal advice and legislative amendment. Approximately €32m has been assigned to support free contraception in 2023.
The scheme covers the cost of consultations with GPs and family planning centres, prescriptions for the wide range of contraceptive options available on the Re-Imbursement List, long-acting reversible contraceptive fittings, removals, injections and check-ups, emergency contraception and more. Over 2,200 GPs and 1,850 pharmacies have signed up to provide services and products under the scheme to date, with further applications pending.
Section 67E of the Health Act 1970 provides that “relevant products” include those (a) standing approved by the Heath Service Executive, or (b) on the Reimbursement List within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Act of 2013.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicines under the community drug schemes, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013.
HSE decisions on which medicines 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. The HSE considers the NCPE assessment, the outputs from commercial engagements, patient interest group submissions, and any other pertinent information in advance of making a reimbursement decision.
In terms of supporting patients, it is also important to note that, in the event of prescription of a product not currently on the Re-Imbursement List, the other significant costs of contraception are still fully covered (consultations, fittings, removals, injections and checks carried out by medical professionals). In terms of which contraceptive products are currently not included on the Re-Imbursement List, this is a service matter and I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.
Question No. 729 answered with Question No. 728.
Question No. 730 answered with Question No. 662.
Home Help Service
Ceisteanna (731)
Duncan Smith
Ceist:731. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if there is a standard list of work for those working as home helps that should be carried out in the care of the person they are caring for; if so, if the list is available; if there have been changes in the work to be carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4667/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Healthcare Infrastructure Provision
Ceisteanna (732)
Duncan Smith
Ceist:732. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the up-to-date position with the provision of a day-care centre (details supplied) in County Kildare; when the centre will be ready; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4669/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
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
Covid-19 Pandemic Supports
Ceisteanna (733)
Matt Carthy
Ceist:733. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health if he will ensure that a person (details supplied) will be awarded the pandemic bonus payment given that they were a front-line worker at a nursing home until its closure in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4676/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
I would also like to remind the Deputy that it is against Department policy to comment on individual cases.
Mental Health Services
Ceisteanna (734)
Mark Ward
Ceist:734. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the number of children who were admitted to adult mental health facilities per month in 2022, per CHO, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4677/23]
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.
Disability Services
Ceisteanna (735)
Pauline Tully
Ceist:735. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 322 of 19 January 2023, the children’s disability network teams that have been provided with an information management system to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4687/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
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.