Written Answers Nos. 1238-1257
1238. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the position of access to Kaftrio for the 35 excluded children with cystic fibrosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12596/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra1375. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the outcome of recent meetings with the HSE and a company regarding securing the drug Kaftrio for children with cystic fibrosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13175/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1238 and 1375 together.
The Health Technology Assessment was received by the HSE from the NCPE on February 9, 2023. The discussions between the HSE and Vertex Pharmaceuticals are at a sensitive stage, and the Minister is not in a position to make any comment at this time.
1239. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health if maternity hospitals have a policy in place for dealing with expectant mothers who have previously experienced a late-stage pregnancy loss or still birth; if he will consider the introduction of a sticker system to alert health care staff when the medical file of a patient includes a history of late-stage pregnancy loss or still birth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12597/23]
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.
1240. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the number of prescriptions issued for fentanyl as part of a public drug scheme or in a HSE hospital, psychiatric facility or primary care setting and by a private GP from 2011 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12599/23]
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.
1241. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the number of prescriptions issued for codeine as part of a public drug scheme or in a HSE hospital, psychiatric facility or primary care setting and by a private GP from 2011 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12600/23]
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.
1242. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the number of prescriptions issued for morphine as part of a public drug scheme or in a HSE hospital, psychiatric facility or primary care setting and by a private GP from 2011 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12601/23]
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.
1243. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the number of prescriptions issued for tramadol as part of a public drug scheme or in a HSE hospital, psychiatric facility or primary care setting and by a private GP from 2011 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12602/23]
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.
1244. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the number of prescriptions issued for hydromorphone as part of a public drug scheme or in a HSE hospital, psychiatric facility or primary care setting and by a private GP from 2011 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12603/23]
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.
1245. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the number of prescriptions issued for benzodiazepines as part of a public drug scheme or in a HSE hospital, psychiatric facility or primary care setting and by a private GP from 2011 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12610/23]
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.
1246. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he has considered restricting the over-the-counter sale of codeine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12611/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra1247. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he plans to review guidelines for the sale of codeine products to protect public health given concerns about the misuse of codeine products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12612/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra1248. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he has any plans to further regulate the sale of codeine containing medicinal products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12613/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1246, 1247 and 1248 together.
Codeine is a mild to moderate opioid (narcotic) analgesic which, due to its potential for misuse, is a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs legislation.
As an analgesic, codeine is most often used in combination with other analgesics such as paracetamol or ibuprofen and is currently authorised in Ireland with such non-prescription products for pain relief. It is also available in single ingredient, non-prescription products, as a cough suppressant. These authorised products are available without a prescription through retail pharmacy businesses (pharmacies) only.
The Health Products Regulatory Authority, the competent authority for medicines in Ireland, are currently conducting an independent review of the method of sale and supply of codeine-containing medicinal products that are currently available without a medical prescription.
Following its completion, the Department of Health will engage with above indicated stakeholders to assess the recommendations made, including the recent recommendations from the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), to fully consider any policy changes that may be required regarding the regulation of codeine-containing medicinal products.
We can confirm that the Department of Health officials have met and will continue to meet officials in the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) and HSE to monitor the evolving evidence in relation to codeine-containing medicines, including the merits of any potential further steps to support the safe and effective use of these medicines. This includes full consideration of any policy changes that may be required regarding the regulation of codeine-containing medicinal products. Any potential change to the prescription requirements for codeine containing medicinal products must be supported by sufficient evidence.
1249. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the plans to develop and expand services and treatments for people with opioid use disorder; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12614/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe national drug strategy, Reducing Harm Supporting Recovery, strategy provides an integrated public health approach to drug and alcohol use, focused on reducing the harms for individuals, families and communities and promoting rehabilitation and recovery.
As noted in the strategy document, Ireland remains a country with a relatively large opiate problem, and although the characteristics of this group are changing, this is an important area for drug treatment services. Opioid substitution treatment (OST) supports patients to recover from drug dependence. Methadone prescribing for opioid dependence remains a key element of the harm reduction approach to opioid use set out in the strategy, along with suboxone. Action 14 in the strategy seeks to increase access to and improve the availability of OST in community settings and homeless services.
HSE addiction services work within the national drugs rehabilitation framework to support progression pathways. The framework ensures that individuals affected by drug misuse are offered a range of integrated options tailored to meet their needs and to create rehabilitation pathways.
Over the last 3 years and in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the HSE introduced a number of innovative changes to the delivery of care for this cohort to enable them safely access treatment and significantly reduce waiting times.
These innovations included:
- Clinical Guidelines on the rapid induction of clients to treatment were developed and modified in response to the ongoing pandemic
- Amendments to the Misuse of Drugs regulations
- Availability of OST was widened extensively and additional homeless settings were able to engage people on OST to ensure appropriate care.
- In recognition of the difficulties some individuals may have in accessing care, virtual clinics for prescribing GPs were established.
- A particular emphasis was placed on the provision of buprenorphine/naloxone (suboxone) as a medication to be used in OST. This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of people receiving this medication and an increase in
- GPs prescribing the medication
As a result of these innovations and changes, the HSE Addiction services and community level 1 and level 2 GPs are now providing OST to almost 1000 more individuals than at the end of January 2020 as can be seen in the table below.
|
- |
Jan 2020 |
October 2022 |
|
Methadone |
10,233 |
10,774 |
|
Buprenorphine/Naloxone |
262 |
706 |
|
Total |
10,495 |
11480 |
The number of GPs prescribing buprenorphine-based products has increased from 37 at the end of January 2020 to 61 now. This is in line with action 14.
Additional funding of €4.2 million was provided in 2021 for the continued treatment of an additional 1,000 clients on opioid substitution treatment (OST), who were given access to OST in 2020 and 2021 under the Covid-19 contingency plan for people who use drugs.
I am committed to improving the availability of this treatment and to developing services to meet the needs of people on opioid substitution treatment.
1250. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Health if any projects under his remit are on hold due to Capital Funding pressures; if he will indicate the projects, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12629/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraCapital investment has a critical role to play in enabling reform proposed in the Programme for Government, enhancing service provision, and to drive the reforms as set out in Sláintecare.
The Capital Plan is an annual document that sets out the planned Health infrastructure investment within a given year.
Aligned to Programme for Government commitments and progress of health strategies and policies, there is a strong pipeline of capital projects being progressed by my Department and the HSE. The number and cost of projects competing for inclusion in the annual Capital Plan invariably exceeds the funding and resources available.
In order to ensure optimum use of all available resources, and in keeping with good practice, it is necessary to conduct a prioritisation exercise to determine which projects are funded and progressed in any given year.
Ensuring value for money is achieved from the available capital budget and selecting projects, requires a robust prioritisation exercise be completed, to inform the Capital Plan. There are a number of considerations that interact to influence the delivery of health infrastructure as well as funding levels, including public spending code requirements, statutory planning, public procurement, construction delivery capacity and supply chain considerations.
Once a project has been included in the Capital Plan, the intention is that it should progress to completion. However, in line with the Public Spending Code and best practice, projects are reviewed at various design stages and re-evaluated, should the project scope or costs alter.
In 2022, the full allocation was utilised to progress the Capital Plan.
In 2023 the core allocation for the funding the capital Plan is €967m, an increase of 11% over 2022 core allocation, plus an amount of €50m for Covid infrastructure projects. This investment will enable the HSE to progress projects across the country in 2023. Projects and Programmes being progressed include:
- New Children’s Hospital
- Capacity projects including critical care beds and acute hospital beds
- Elective hospitals
- Relocation of the National Maternity Hospital and other maternity services projects
- Primary Care Programme including the building and equipping of centres across the country
- HIQA Programme for Community Nursing units involving refurbishment to HIQA standard of units throughout the country
- Mental health facilities including CAMHS units and acute mental health units across the country
- Accommodation for Enhanced Community Care programme
- Investment in Trauma and Rehabilitation projects
- Equipment replacement and infrastructural risk projects
- Investment in Climate Action and Sustainability projects
- Replacement ambulance programme and ambulance bases renovation
I and officials in my Department will continue to work with the HSE and other stakeholders to ensure the capital programme and capital plans are progressed over 2023 and future years.
1251. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of people who started radiation therapy for cancer treatment within the recommended timeframe, on a monthly basis, between 1 January 2019 to date, in tabular form. [12660/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra1252. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of people with skin cancer who started radiation therapy within the recommended timeframe on a monthly basis between 1 January 2019 to the present date, in tabular form. [12661/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra1253. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of people with breast cancer who started radiation therapy within the recommended timeframe to start radiation therapy, on a monthly basis, between 1 January 2019 to date, in tabular form. [12662/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra1254. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of people with prostate cancer who started radiation therapy within the recommended timeframe to start radiation therapy, on a monthly basis, between 1 January 2019 to date, in tabular form. [12663/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra1255. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of people with cervical cancer who started radiation therapy within the recommended timeframe to start radiation therapy, on a monthly basis, between 1 January 2019 to date, in tabular form. [12664/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra1256. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of people with head and neck cancer who started radiation therapy within the recommended timeframe to start radiation therapy, on a monthly basis, between 1 January 2019 to date, in tabular form. [12665/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra1257. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the absolute number of people who started radiation therapy for cancer treatment, whether or not they started within the recommended timeframe, in each month between 1 January 2019 to date, in tabular form. [12666/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra1258. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of appointment slots which were available per month for people to receive radical radiotherapy between 1 January 2016 to date, in tabular form. [12667/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra1259. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of full-time equivalent radiation therapists that are required to ensure that people with cancer start radiation therapy within the required timeframe. [12668/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1251, 1252, 1253, 1254, 1255, 1256, 1257, 1258 and 1259 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
