Written Answers Nos. 173-193
173. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Health if there are plans in place to reduce the current level of service provided in the pain clinic at Sligo University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24186/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
174. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Health the current number of full-/part-time consultants assigned to the pain clinic at Sligo University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24187/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
175. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to reduce the number of full-/part-time consultants currently assigned to the pain clinic at Sligo University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24188/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
176. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Health if plans are in place to alleviate the backlog of seeing patients at the pain clinic at Sligo University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24189/24]
View answerIt is acknowledged that many patients are still waiting too long for hospital appointments and treatments. As Minister I am conscious of the burden this places on those patients and their families.
As part of the multi-annual approach to reducing waiting lists, and just as importantly the length of time that patients are waiting, I published the 2024 Waiting List Action Plan on 27th March. Total funding of €360 million has been provided for the plan this year which sets out 19 Actions across three themes: Delivering Capacity, Reforming Scheduled Care and Enabling Scheduled Care Reform.
The Waiting List Action Plan multi-annual approach, initiated in 2021, encompasses a two-pronged approach of short-term actions to increase capacity and activity in the immediate term, and longer-term reform measures to sustainably reduce and reform hospital waiting lists and waiting times.
The 2024 Plan builds on the work of previous plans which have achieved significant progress in overall waiting list reduction and in addressing long waiting times, against a backdrop of significantly increased demand for scheduled care services. This year’s plan aims to achieve a reduction in the overall number of patients on waiting lists while three of the four overarching targets in the Plan are specifically focused on improving waiting times.
There are 341 patients on the Sligo University Hospital Outpatient (OPD) Pain Relief waiting list. Of these, 78% are waiting 6 months or less and 94% are waiting 12 months or less. There are 107 patients on the Sligo University Hospital Inpatient/Daycase (IPDC) Pain Relief waiting list. Of these, 61% are waiting 6 months or less and 98% are waiting 12 months or less.
The NTPF has advised my Department that 3 Pain Relief insourcing initiatives have been approved for Saolta Hospital Group (2 OPD and 1 IPDC), which will facilitate treatment for 580 patients on Pain Relief waiting lists.
177. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the clinical lead, relevant acute settings and organisation of services in place in the provision of onco-genetic testing and counselling in the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24193/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
178. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the current provision for and future development of a genetic database for national cancer services and oncology treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24194/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
179. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health the number of genetic tests currently sent outside the State to public or private companies, from 2020 to 2024 inclusive; the location of those companies; and the amount paid by the HSE to each company, in tabular form. [24195/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
180. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 296 of 1 May 2024, if an implementation group (details supplied) has completed its work; if the group has submitted its report to the Minister; the membership of that group; the stakeholders engaged during targeted engagement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24199/24]
View answerIn February 2023, I published the Mazars Review which examined the governance arrangements around the HSE’s Drug Pricing and Reimbursement Process. The Report found that the reimbursement process is operating in line with the legislation and that it is delivering results in line with international norms. I fully support the recommendations contained in the Mazars report around improving the process, increasing transparency, providing easier access, and supporting value for money.
An implementation group has been established between my Department and the HSE to consider and progress the various recommendations contained in the Report. The membership of the Group includes representatives of the Drugs Group, the HSE, the NCPE, and the Department of Health. The Working Group has met frequently since its establishment, to consider the involvement of patients, industry, and clinicians, in each stage of the reimbursement process.
The Group has conducted two rounds of targeted stakeholder consultation. Submissions to the Group were received from:
Alliance of Rare Disease Companies Ireland
AstraZeneca
BioMarin
Cystic Fibrosis Ireland
Fighting Blindness
Irish Cancer Society
Irish Haematological Society
Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association
Irish Platform for Patient Organisations, Science and Industry
Irish Society of Medical Oncologists
Medicines for Ireland
Multiple Sclerosis Ireland
National Cancer Control Programme
Rare Diseases Ireland
Rare Disease Technology Review Committee
The insights gained from stakeholders have been considered by the Group as it continues its work on progressing the various recommendations of the Review. The Group’s work is now nearing completion and a report on this will be submitted to me in the coming weeks.
181. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health if he can advise regarding correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24200/24]
View answerThe Health Act 2007 prohibits the operation of a designated centre unless it is registered with the Chief Inspector of Social Services. HIQA, as the regulator, have to inspect and register all new Community Nursing Unit facilities prior to them opening. The new facilities at St. Camillus Community Hospital must be registered by HIQA before being brought into use.
A HIQA inspection took place on 11 December 2023, where a number of issues within the 50 bed unit that needed to be addressed were highlighted. All of these items have been addressed by HSE Estates Department/Contractor/Maintenance Department, with one item outstanding.
HSE Estates are addressing this item and HIQA are satisfied that while works are ongoing, as the ground floor courtyard will not be accessible, residents will need to be offered alternative outdoor space during this period of works. This will not prevent the new facility from opening.
There is an outstanding issue in relation to governance and management structures at St. Camillus and the HSE is actively examining the feasibility of alternative governance arrangements to meet HIQA requirements. There is active and ongoing engagement between the HSE and HIQA in an effort to resolve this issue.
In order to safely open St. Camillus for residents, there are also a number of staff deficits that need to be addressed. The HSE is actively working, alongside the Department of Health, to ensure that the necessary staff are recruited at the earliest possible opportunity and that all of the beds in St. Camillus are fully operational as soon as possible.
182. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the availability of radiology and MRI services in University Hospital Limerick; to provide clarity on the reason outpatients have been informed by UHL that outpatient MRI services have been paused indefinitely due to a large demand for inpatient MRI services; the action he is taking to rectify this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24201/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
183. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the availability of radiology and MRI services in University Hospital Limerick; to provide clarity on the reason a person (details supplied) was informed by the radiology department of UHL that all MRI Services for outpatients have been paused indefinitely; the action he is taking to rectify this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24202/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
184. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) can receive a support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24206/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
185. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the level of expenditure on the National Treatment Purchase Fund’s commissioning of diagnostic testing to date, by month, since commencement, in tabular form; the level of expenditure per scan type; his intentions regarding current and future funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24209/24]
View answerThe information is set out in the following table.
|
- |
Total EDANS Utilised by year and Total Cost |
|||||
|
Actual |
Actual |
Actual |
Actual |
Actual |
Budgeted |
|
|
Year |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
Utilised |
22,936 |
38,535 |
44,513 |
66,983 |
94,557 |
70,000 |
|
Cost € |
€3m |
€6m |
€7m |
€11m |
€17m |
€13m |
|
Breakdown by Modality |
||||||
|
Modality |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
|
CT |
25,231 |
33,229 |
||||
|
ECHO |
4,544 |
5,462 |
||||
|
MRI |
12,325 |
27,057 |
||||
|
Plain Film |
3,659 |
974 |
||||
|
Ultrasound |
Modality Breakdown not available |
Modality Breakdown not available |
Modality Breakdown not available |
21,224 |
27,835 |
|
|
Totals |
22,936 |
38,535 |
44,513 |
66,983 |
94,557 |
|
|
2023 |
||||||
|
Modality |
Initial 65k |
Additional 25k |
||||
|
CT |
23,997 |
9,232 |
||||
|
ECHO |
3,977 |
1,485 |
||||
|
MRI |
16,324 |
10,095 |
||||
|
Plain Film |
1,587 |
613 |
||||
|
Ultrasound |
17,650 |
9,597 |
||||
|
Totals |
63,535 |
31,022 |
186. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Health the timeline for the opening of the register of the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24211/24]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, CORU is Ireland’s multi-profession health and social care regulator. CORU’s role is to protect the public by regulating the health and social care professions designated under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (as amended), including setting the standards that health and social care professionals must meet to be eligible for registration and maintaining registers of persons who meet those standards.
Seventeen health and social care professions are designated for regulation by CORU. There are currently registers open for twelve professions and CORU is continuing the substantial work required to open the registers for the remaining designated professions of Psychologists; Counsellors and Psychotherapists; Clinical Biochemists; and Orthoptists.
Each profession designated under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act has its own independent registration board with statutory responsibility for:
• Establishing and maintaining the register of members for that profession;
• Recognising qualifications gained outside the State;
• Approving and monitoring education and training programmes for entry to the register;
• Setting the code of professional conduct and ethics giving guidance to professionals on Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Regulations to designate the professions of counsellor and psychotherapist under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (as amended) were made by the previous Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD, in 2019. The Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board (CPRB) was established in February 2019. Its membership comprises practitioners, representatives from education and training, and lay members.
The work of the CPRB includes consideration of the titles to be protected and the minimum qualifications to be required of existing practitioners and the qualifications that will be required for future graduates. The work of the CPRB is significantly more challenging than it is for registration boards for some of the more established professions owing to the different and complex pathways into these professions, the variety of titles used, and the variety and number of courses and course providers.
The CPRB undertook an extensive research process to inform the drafting of standards and criteria. This included a review of contemporary evidence-informed academic literature, an examination of comparator international professional standards, and understanding the contemporary practice of the profession in Ireland. Key stakeholders, including the public (through a public consultation process), are also part of the drafting process.
Throughout the course of 2022 and 2023, the CPRB drafted threshold level standards of knowledge, skills and professional behaviour – its Standards of Proficiency – and the systems and processes that education providers must have in place to ensure consistent and effective delivery of graduates who have achieved the Standards of Proficiency ¬– its Criteria for Education and Training Programmes. Two sets of these requirements were drafted: one for counsellors and one for psychotherapists representing the first attempt to establish distinct standards for each profession in Ireland and the first effort to standardise threshold level education and training requirements for entry to each profession.
The introduction of regulation to the counselling profession is a top priority for CORU. Extensive work has already been carried out by the CPRB to achieve this. Most recently a public consultation was held on the Standards of Proficiency and Criteria for Education and Training Programmes for the counselling profession.
The CPRB is now reviewing the many responses received during this consultation. Following this extensive review activity, the Board will communicate the next steps in the process towards introducing statutory regulation for counsellors.
Owing to the significant body of preparatory work that the CPRB are required to undertake, it is not possible to say with any degree of accuracy when the professions of counsellor and psychotherapist will be fully regulated. I would anticipate that the CPRB will require a number of years to complete its work.
187. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to increase the income thresholds for a medical card for people under 70 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24214/24]
View answerEligibility for a Medical Card is primarily based on a financial assessment which is conducted by the HSE in accordance with the Health Act 1970 (as amended). The HSE assesses each medical card application on a qualifying financial threshold. This is the amount of money that an individual can earn a week and still qualify for a card. It is specific to the individual’s own financial circumstances.
Persons aged 70 or older are assessed under medical card income thresholds which are based on gross income. The weekly gross medical card income thresholds for people aged 70 and over are currently €550 per week for a single person and €1050 for a couple.
Persons under 70 are assessed under the general means tested medical card thresholds which are based on an applicant’s household income after tax and the deduction of PRSI and the Universal Social Charge. Certain expenses are also taken into account. Examples of allowable expenses include rent, mortgage, certain insurance costs, childcare, maintenance, nursing home net costs which help to increase the amount a person can earn and still qualify for a medical card. For people under 70, the thresholds range from €184 per week for a single person living alone aged under 66, to €298 per week for married, co-habiting couple or a single parent family aged over 66 (with additional amount for each child dependent). Detailed guidelines are available at: Assessment for a medical card - HSE.ie.
Every effort is made by the HSE, within the framework of the legislation, to support applicants in applying for a medical card - in particular, to take full account of difficult circumstances in the case of applicants who may be in excess of the income guidelines. In such circumstances, the HSE may exercise discretion and grant a medical card, for example:
• Discretionary medical cards issued to patients with significant medical expenses but who do not satisfy the means test.
• Emergency medical cards are issued to patients that are terminally ill, or are seriously ill, and in urgent need of medical care that they cannot afford.
• Medical cards issued to patients who are terminally ill with a prognosis of 24 months or less do not require subsequent means assessment and are not reviewed.
I can assure the Deputy that my Department keeps medical card issues under review in order to ensure the medical card system is responsive and sensitive to people's needs. Over the course of 2024 and 2025, we will review the existing eligibility framework to clearly assess what is working well and to inform policy proposals to enhance eligibility and access to services based on robust evidence. This is an important step towards delivering on universal healthcare in Ireland.
188. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health if he will undertake a comprehensive review of how home care services are provided in Ireland (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24217/24]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
189. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health his plans to introduce a comprehensive newborn screening programme, which would ensure that all babies born in Ireland are screened for the European average of 18 conditions at a minimum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24224/24]
View answerCurrently, all newborn babies (between 3 and 5 days old) are offered newborn bloodspot screening (generally known as the ‘heel prick’) for rare but serious conditions that are treatable if detected early in life.
The expansion of the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening (NBS) Programme continues to remain a key objective of mine as Minister for Health, and I am pleased to note that the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) has been actively progressing work in this regard.
NSAC is an independent expert group that considers and assesses evidence in a robust and transparent manner, and against internationally accepted criteria. It is important that we have rigorous processes in place to ensure our screening programmes are effective, quality assured, validated and operating to safe standards, and that the benefits of screening outweigh the harms.
Significant progress continues to be made on the expansion of the NBS Programme under this Government. As the Deputy will be aware, last year I approved a recommendation from the Committee for all types of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) to the NBS programme which will bring the number of conditions screened for to 11, once implemented. I would highlight that this will represent a 37% increase achieved under the lifetime of this Government.
In February of this year, I was pleased to allocate €1.4m of new development funding in 2024 to support the expansion of the NBS programme. This funding will allow for the rollout of testing for both SCID and SMA and represents a significant funding increase in a single year. The announcement further demonstrates my ongoing commitment to reducing the impact of these rare but serious diseases in children and infants. This investment will be crucial to providing additional funds for new equipment, staff recruitment, validation, quality assurance and training to facilitate addition of new conditions to NBS programme.
I can confirm that work commenced at the start of this year, with ongoing collaboration between officials in my Department and the HSE National Children’s Screening Programme on implementing an ambitious timeline for the introduction of screening for SMA and SCID.
In terms of further expansion of our newborn screening programmes, Ireland has always evaluated the case for commencing a national screening programme against international accepted criteria – collectively known as the Wilson Jungner criteria. The evidence bar for commencing a screening programme should and must remain high. This ensures that we can be confident that the programme is effective, quality assured and operating to safe standards. There is no doubt that newborn screening programmes have the potential to be rapidly transformed by new technologies and new therapies but this highlights the need to continue with a robust, methodologically sound and detailed analysis of the evidence in each and every case against internationally accepted screening criteria.
The expansion of newborn bloodspot screening is being continually reviewed across Europe where the number of conditions screened for varies significantly. For example, the UK currently screens for a similar number of conditions as Ireland. However, as noted by HIQA in their 2021 ‘Review of processes in use to inform the expansion of newborn bloodspot Screening programmes’, international comparisons of the range of conditions screened is likely to reflect complex decision-making processes and local inputs. These may include differing opinions with respect to assessment of conditions against criteria, differences in practice with respect to organisational structure and laboratory implementation, differing levels of tolerance for false positives and false negatives and differing local epidemiology with respect to condition prevalence and the genetic composition of the local population.
Nevertheless, I am acutely aware of how difficult it is for parents, families and children who have received a diagnosis of a rare disease, and how challenging daily life can be for them. This is why I remain committed to the further expansion of screening in Ireland in accordance with internationally accepted criteria and best practice.
190. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that there is still a significant delay for people who have retired from employment from section 38 voluntary organisations and voluntary hospitals to receive their pensions; his views on whether this is acceptable; the steps being taken to resolve this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24233/24]
View answerThe administration of pensions is a matter for the Health Service Executive. The HSE has been asked to respond directly to the Deputy.
191. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the HSE expenditure on vaccines, excluding Covid-19 vaccines, for each of the years 2019 to 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24254/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
192. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the action his Department is taking to assist an organisation (details supplied) regarding its current staffing crisis, which has resulted in day services being stopped for service users. [24258/24]
View answerThis is a matter for the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability and Youth of Ireland.
193. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of a hospital appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24264/24]
View answerUnder 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.
