Written Answers Nos. 926-945
926. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Health if she will examine ways to improve a service (details supplied) in County Wexford, with a view to reducing the number of patients who have to attend emergency departments. [71508/25]
View answerGeneral Practitioners that hold GMS contracts for the provision of services to medical card and GP visit card holders, are required under their contract to make suitable arrangements for emergencies outside normal practice hours.
Almost 2,600 GPs now hold a GMS contract, and while they are not obliged to, most GPs participate in GP out of hours cooperatives to meet their outside of practice hours service requirements. A robust GP out of hours services ensures that, as much as possible, urgent care needs are met in the community and not in a hospital setting.
The HSE is in regular contact with all out of hours service providers to ensure that these services continue to meet the needs of their local communities.
In regard to measures to improve out of hours services, measures to reform out of hours services to ensure the delivery of an accessible high quality service are being considered as part of the Strategic Review of General Practice which is currently underway. Following its completion, a final report will be presented to me outlining the findings of the review and setting out recommended actions for a more sustainable general practice.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that as part of the measures in place to protect public health during the winter season, the HSE are providing additional funding towards out of hours GP services to increase triage capacity and GP availability in out of hours treatment centres between 6pm and 10pm from the 27th of December to the 26th of January.
927. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the list of locations considered for the provision of a GP service in Clare (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71519/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to reply to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
928. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if she has reviewed the joint statement from clinical and professional groups regarding the proposed changes to the reclassification for high-protein oral nutritional supplements (ONS) from list A to list B (details supplied); if she is aware that approximately 15,000 patients per month rely on these products, including many older adults at risk of malnutrition or frailty in nursing homes and community settings; if high-protein ONS will remain fully reimbursable and available for clinically indicated older patients; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71523/25]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on the pricing and reimbursement of supplements, medicines and medical devices; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
929. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if the case of a person in Kerry can be examined (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71542/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
930. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the plans for the Elm Park Green campus, Dublin 4, purchased by the HSE in 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71543/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
931. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Health for an update on the development of a primary care centre (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71550/25]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive (HSE) holds responsibility for the provision, along with the maintenance and operation of Primary Care Centres, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
932. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Health for an update on the development of the 75-bed acute admissions unit for Mental Health at St. Stephen's Hospital, Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71551/25]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
933. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Health for an update on plans to replace the mental health continuing care beds currently utilised in units 1, 2, 3 and 8 in St. Stephen's Hospital, Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71552/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
934. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Health if there are plans in place to refurbish/enhance the mental health continuing care facility at Mount Alvernia Hospital, Mallow; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71553/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
935. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health the staffing levels at the diabetic podiatry services in Galway city operating at St. Francis primary care centre at Newcastle, Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71532/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
936. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health the staffing cohort at diabetic podiatry services within each health area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71533/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
937. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health the staffing cohort at the Merlin Park podiatry clinic at Merlin Park Hospital, Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71554/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
938. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health the number of patients currently attending the diabetic podiatry services in Galway city; if a waiting list exists to access the services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71555/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
939. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health the number of patients currently attending the podiatry clinic at Merlin Park outpatients clinic at Merlin Park Hospital, Galway city; if a waiting list exists to access the services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71556/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
940. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health the number of patients currently attending the respiratory outpatient clinic at Merlin Park in Galway city; whether a waiting list exists to access the services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71558/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
941. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health if she will review matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); if they will be prioritised considering the ongoing decline in their condition; if she will clarify the person's position on the waiting list; the expected timeline for treatment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71575/25]
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. The Minister for Health is prohibited 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 health issues raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
942. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the number of mental health related appointments provided in each primary care centre, per county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71581/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the HSE to respond to the deputy as soon as possible.
943. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the number of children and young people currently awaiting access to CAMHS; the average waiting time for first time appointments, by county, in tabular form; the number of active CAMHS clinical posts by disciple; the number vacant in each county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71583/25]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
944. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health to implement specific protocols on IVF clinics handling gametes from patients with blood-borne viruses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71598/25]
View answer945. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health to consider providing funding to allow IVF clinics to provide separate facilities and equipment for handling gametes from patients with blood-borne viruses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71599/25]
View answer946. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health her plans to allow patients living with HIV or hepatitis C to gain access to IVF given current issues around this have been raised (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71600/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 944 to 946, inclusive, together.
As per European legislation – and as transposed into Irish law through the European Communities (Quality and Safety of Human Tissues and Cells) Regulations 2006 – patients undergoing advanced fertility treatment such as IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) and ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection) are required to undergo viral screening. This mandatory requirement screen bloods for the presence of HIV (human immunodeficiency viruses) 1 & 2, hepatitis B core antibody and surface antigen, hepatitis C and syphilis. Section 2.3 of Schedule 3 of the 2006 Regulations states: “Where HIV 1 and 2, hepatitis B or hepatitis C test results are positive or unavailable, or where the donor is known to be a source of infection risk, a system of separate storage must be devised”. The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) holds responsibility for ensuring compliance with the 2006 Regulations; however, neither I, as Minister for Health, nor the HPRA has the power to direct private assisted human reproduction (AHR) providers operating in this country to put in place the necessary facilities and systems to cater for prospective patients who have, for example, tested positive for HIV or hepatitis C.
The Model of Care for Fertility was developed by the Department of Health in conjunction with the Health Service Executive (HSE)’s National Women & Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) in order to ensure that fertility-related issues are addressed through the public health system at the lowest level of clinical intervention necessary.
This Model of Care comprises three stages, starting in primary care (i.e., GPs) and extending into secondary care (i.e., the six Regional Fertility Hubs located across the country) and then, where necessary, AHR (assisted human reproduction) treatment (e.g., IVF, ICSI and IUI (intrauterine insemination)), with patients being referred onwards through structured pathways.
Phase One of the roll-out of the Model of Care involved the establishment, at secondary care level, of six Regional Fertility Hubs within maternity networks covering the entire country, in order to facilitate the management of a significant proportion of patients presenting with fertility-related issues at this level of intervention. Patients are referred by their GPs to their local Regional Fertility Hub.
The Regional Fertility Hubs offer patients who are experiencing challenges with their fertility both medical and surgical interventions, including: relevant blood tests, semen analysis, assessment of tubal patency, hysteroscopy, laparoscopy, fertility-related surgeries, ovulation induction and follicle tracking, so as to assist achieve natural conception. However, if all available services at secondary level care are exhausted, reproductive specialist consultants can refer clinically-indicated patients who meet the eligibility criteria for specialist AHR services such as IVF.
As part of the final phase of the roll-out of the Model of Care for Fertility, referrals for AHR treatment by one of eight HSE-approved private providers, as chosen by the eligible patient concerned, commenced in September 2023. As well as IVF and ICSI, the funding allocated is also being used to provide IUI, which can, for certain cohorts of patients, be a potentially effective, yet less complex and less intrusive treatment.
It is important to ensure that patients are clinically determined by a consultant in a Regional Fertility Hub for IVF, ICSI or IUI before being referred for such treatment, having undertaken at the Hub, as appropriate, extensive consultation, assessment, and the types of procedures and interventions outlined above which are available at the secondary care level. In this regard, numerous patients have had their fertility-related issues resolved through the six Regional Fertility Hubs without having to undergo what can be highly invasive and gruelling AHR treatment such as IVF or ICSI.
In relation to the management and care of public patients who are HIV+ and/or hepatitis C+, within the pool of the eight private AHR providers, the HSE has informed my officials that there is a small number of providers who are currently positioned to manage such cases. If alternative advanced treatment such as IVF or ICSI is required, in which the gametes (egg or sperm) of the patients are handled and managed as part of the care, no AHR provider in Ireland is currently positioned to offer care if either the female or male is HIV+ and/or hepatitis C+.
Any couple identified at Regional Fertility Hub level, in which one or both partners are living with the aforementioned viruses, who have been clinically determined as requiring AHR treatment, meet the national access criteria, and cannot be managed and cared for within the current network of HSE-approved providers will be able to receive their treatment under the HSE’s Treatment Abroad Scheme (TAS). The relevant Regional Fertility Hub, NWIHP and the TAS will work closely together in relation to meeting the needs of individual couples in this regard.
The first public AHR Centre has opened in Cork, with the first IUI treatment having been provided in early December. NWIHP is currently working with the Cork AHR team with a view to developing in the first instance an IUI service that can manage patients living with HIV or hepatitis C. This service is being developed in close collaboration with the infectious disease services and will involve the development of a joint package of care, such that a couple requiring IUI treatment can receive it in time in the Cork AHR Centre and will no longer have to travel abroad. With the planned development and delivery of further advanced treatments in Cork, such as IVF, again NWIHP is working with the Cork team to assess the ability and feasibility of providing those services to patients living with HIV or hepatitis C, thereby removing the need for any couples to travel abroad for treatment.
Whilst this work is ongoing, with a view to ultimately positioning the public service to meet the needs of individuals living with HIV or hepatitis C in relation to the provision of advanced fertility treatment, it is important to note that no patient is being denied treatment. AHR treatment, if indicated, can and will be enabled by the HSE and its Treatment Abroad Scheme.
In conclusion, the Department of Health and the Government have been focused, through the full implementation of the Model of Care for Fertility, on ensuring that patients receive care at the appropriate level of clinical intervention and then those requiring, and eligible for, advanced AHR treatment such as IVF will be able to access same through the public health system.
