Tuesday, 28 Feb 2023

Nursing Homes

Ceisteanna (659)

Joan Collins

Ceist:

659. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) should have her pension of £179.30 paid to the public nursing home. [10145/23]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As I trust the Deputy will understand, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on litigation proceedings.

Patient Transfers

Ceisteanna (660)

Seán Canney

Ceist:

660. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if he will support a matter (details supplied). [10154/23]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Health

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.

Health Service Executive

Ceisteanna (661)

Danny Healy-Rae

Ceist:

661. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update in relation to the HSE cyberattack (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10155/23]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

At the outset, it is important to note that there is no evidence that any personal data has been shared or used fraudulently since the criminally motivated cyber-attack in May 2021 (other than a small amount of data which was referred to in an article in May 2021 by the Financial Times and subsequently removed from the web). The HSE began a secure process on the 29th November to contact people whose information was illegally accessed and copied during the 2021 cyber-attack on HSE systems. This follows a lengthy and detailed process whereby files were subjected to extensive examination and verification to determine whether they had been affected to and confirm who they belonged to. To date, the HSE has notified almost 52,000 individuals of a total number of 100,000 people whose personal information was affected by the cyber-attack and this process is estimated to take 16-weeks from start to finish. TUSLA has commenced its notification process relating to 20,000 people whose personal information was affected by the cyber-attack. Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) has also commenced notification that includes approximately 2,200 people.

The HSE has taken a number of actions and mitigations since the criminally motivated cyber-attack that includes the following:

- HSE cyber security experts have been monitoring the internet including the dark web since the cyber-attack and have seen no evidence at this point that the illegally accessed and copied data has been used for any criminal purposes or been published online (other than a small amount of data which was referred to in an article in May 2021 by the Financial Times and subsequently removed from the web).

- The HSE obtained a High Court order on 20th May 2021 restraining any sharing, processing, selling, or publishing of data illegally accessed and copied from our computer systems. This remains in place to prevent anyone using any of the illegally accessed and copied information.

- HSE cyber security experts are continuing to monitor the internet and the dark web for illegally accessed information and the HSE will act immediately if they see any evidence of this.

Since the cyber-attack the HSE has:

- further strengthened IT and cyber security defences

- increased their staff training and awareness about cyber security

- implemented controls to monitor and manage threats to the HSE network and further strengthened identity and access management processes and controls.

- worked with international and national cyber security experts to protect against future attacks

While the GDPR Act 2018 set out the rights of individuals in the event of a data breach, it is important to note the strong measures and mitigation actions taken by the HSE since the criminal attack and also that there is no evidence that any personal data has been shared or used fraudulently since 2021 (other than a small amount of data which was referred to in an article in May 2021 by the Financial Times and subsequently removed from the web).

It is also acknowledged that the Court of Justice of the European Union (the CJEU) is considering questions referred to the CJEU in a number of cases relating to the infringement of the GDPR including as a result of a ransom attack and we now await to see the outcome of these cases.

Emergency Departments

Ceisteanna (662)

Seán Canney

Ceist:

662. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the plan for a new accident and emergency department at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10156/23]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

The proposed new Emergency Department (ED), including reconfiguration of the existing ED, at Beaumont Hospital is a large and complex proposal, which is in the early stages of design development.

The delivery of capital projects is a dynamic process and is subject to the successful completion of the various approval stages, in line with the new life cycle approach of the updated Public Spending Code (PSC).

The HSE has appointed a design team and, whilst it is in early stages of development, the Design Report is now completed. The design team will continue through this design process including the statutory planning applications.

In parallel to this work, the HSE is drafting a Strategic Assessment Report (SAR). The SAR has yet to be submitted by the HSE, but it is expected it will be submitted to the Department of Health in the coming months.

If the SAR satisfies the requirements of the Public Spending Code, a preliminary business case can be developed, building on the work of the design team.

Given the impact of construction inflation and supply chain issues in the construction sector arising from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the proposal could potentially cost over €100m. For all projects proposed in excess of €100m Government is the approving authority.

The preliminary business case would then be reviewed in line with the requirements under the PSC and submitted to Government for approval. This approval would enable the HSE to proceed to develop a procurement strategy and tender documents for the new ED.

Unfortunately, the timeline for the new ED cannot be estimated until after the completion of a tender competition and submission of the Final Business Case to Government for approval.

Hospital Staff

Question No. 669 answered with Question No. 547.

Health Services

Ceisteanna (670)

Darren O'Rourke

Ceist:

670. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost to offer every woman aged over 60 years a DEXA scan as part of their life-course management programme delivered through their general practitioner. [10179/23]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Women's health is a key priority for me as Minister for Health and for my Department. In 2019, the Women's Health Task force was established to improve women's health outcomes and experiences in Ireland. On the 8th of March 2022, International Women’s Day, I launched the Women's Health Action Plan 2022-2023. This Action Plan is the first of its kind in Ireland and marks a significant milestone in our efforts to improve women's health. The Action Plan puts forward a wide range of positive initiatives to support women’s health and sets out a framework for prioritising women's health. Significant progress has been made in the implementation of this plan throughout 2022 and is continuing this year.

In regards to the Deputy's specific query, the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) is an independent advisory committee which advises me, as Minister for Health, and my Department on all new proposals for population-based screening programmes and revisions to existing programmes. The Committee plays a significant strategic role in the development and consideration of population-based screening programmes in Ireland.

This independent expert group considers and assesses evidence in a robust and transparent manner, and against internationally accepted criteria. It is important we have rigorous processes in place to ensure our screening programmes are effective, quality assured and operating to safe standards, and that the benefits of screening outweigh the harms.

An exact costing cannot be provided for the introduction of a new population-based screening programme as financial cost is but one factor that is considered in the decision-making process. Due to the complex nature of the evaluation process and the criteria against which a decision is made, it would be impossible to accurately quantify the cost of a new screening programme until a full evidential assessment was completed.

The NSAC holds an Annual Call for proposals from various sources such as members of the public, HSE, clinicians on the introduction of new screening programmes or changes to our existing programmes. Further information about the NSAC and its processes are available on their website www.nsacommittee.gov.ie.

It is also important to note that the GP Access to Diagnostics initiative, which was launched in January 2021 and is open to the full adult population for referral, provides a structured pathway for GPs to directly access radiology diagnostic tests, so patients can access these tests quickly and without seeing a consultant. In 2022, over 253,000 diagnostic tests were completed through this initiative, which includes DEXA, X-Ray, MRI, and CT Scans, provisioned by private providers and avoiding referral to the acute setting for patients to access these tests. This year, funding of €47 million has been allocated to ensure the continuation of this initiative, with the full population eligible to be referred for outsourced radiology scans, to the end of 2023.

Departmental Data

Ceisteanna (671)

Darren O'Rourke

Ceist:

671. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of ophthalmology surgeries that have been carried out at the Mater Hospital in 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023; and the number of those procedures that have been undertaken in order to treat a specific condition, in tabular form. [10180/23]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

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.