Written Answers Nos. 1146-1165
1146. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of hospitals that initiated scheduled care cancellations at Navan Hospital, broken down by appointment of procedure type and by adult and child from 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form. [10239/26]
View answerI fully acknowledge the distress and inconvenience for patients and their families when hospital appointments are cancelled, particularly in the case of clinically urgent procedures.
While every effort is made to avoid cancellation or postponement of planned procedures, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has advised that planned procedures and operations can be postponed or cancelled for a variety of reasons including capacity issues due to increased unscheduled care demand.
Patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically aligned and prioritised way, hospitals follow HSE clinical guidelines and protocols.
Cancelled hospital procedures/appointments are, where appropriate, rescheduled as early as possible with priority given to patients requiring time-sensitive and urgent treatment. Patients that are cancelled are rescheduled with the next available appointment based on their clinical prioritisation, with urgent patients prioritised for access.
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.
1147. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of hospitals initiated scheduled care cancellations at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, broken down by appointment of procedure type and by adult/child, from 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form. [10240/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1148. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of delayed transfers of care, delayed discharges as a percentage of total discharges, and bed days lost as a percentage of total bed days at Navan Hospital, from 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form. [10241/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1149. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of delayed transfers of care, delayed discharges as a percentage of total discharges, and bed days lost as a percentage of total bed days at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, from 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form. [10242/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1150. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the bed occupancy rates at Navan Hospital, and the number of days full capacity protocols were in operation at the hospital, from 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form. [10243/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1151. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the bed occupancy rates at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, and the number of days full capacity protocols were in operation at the hospital, from 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form. [10244/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1152. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of assaults recorded against patients and staff at Navan Hospital and other HSE facilities in County Meath, from 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form [10245/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1153. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the ambulance response performance for clinical status 1 incidents in the HSE Dublin and Northeast Health Region, including response times, proportions met, and incident volumes by clinical status, from 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form. [10246/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1154. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the percentage of ambulance crews available to respond within 20 minutes of emergency department handover at Navan Hospital, and each hospital in the Dublin and Northeast Region, by location, on a quarterly basis for 2023-2025, in tabular form. [10247/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1155. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of patients in County Meath on primary care and community services waiting lists, broken down by service type, age group, and length of wait, from December 2022-2025, or latest comparable date, in tabular form, [10248/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1156. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of people in County Meath waiting for home support from December 2022-2025 or latest comparable date] and the number of people receiving less than their allocated hours, in tabular form. [10249/26]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1157. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of people in County Meath waiting for CAMHS, broken down by length of wait, on a quarterly basis for 2022-2025, in tabular form. [10250/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1158. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of people in County Meath waiting for Jigsaw, broken down by length of wait, on a quarterly basis for 2022-2025, in tabular form. [10251/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
1159. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Health for an update on the accessibility of Welireg (belzutifan) for patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10252/26]
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 medicines and medical devices; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
1160. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the current status and future use of the former St Brigid’s Hospital, Carrick-on-Suir; whether the HSE has undertaken or plans to undertake engagement with local community representatives and campaigners regarding potential health service uses for the site; and if consideration has been given to the suitability of the location for the provision of Level 2 palliative care or other step-down community health services, in line with Sláintecare objectives. [10254/26]
View answerAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the management of the public healthcare estate, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly in relation to this matter.
1161. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health if she is aware that her environmental health officers (EHOs) have no powers when a public nuisance is emanating from a private dwelling house (details supplied); if she has any proposals to strengthen the law to enable EHOs to intervene to alleviate these public nuisance cases, particularly where the owner of the property causing the nuisance cannot be identified or traced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10255/26]
View answerI am advised that the HSE National Environmental Health Service (NEHS) has no statutory remit in relation to the investigation and abatement of public nuisances, other than under the Rats & Mice (Destruction) Act 1919. Under this legislation HSE Environmental Health Officers have powers to serve notice where the occupier/owner of a property fails to take such steps as may from time to time be necessary and reasonably practicable for the destruction of rats and mice on or in any lands or premises of which they are the occupier/owner. In cases where properties are unoccupied/vacant a notice can be served on the owner once ownership details have been established.
In circumstances where the cases reported do not fall within the statutory remit of the HSE/NEHS, advice is given in relation to who the most appropriate authority may be, and a referral may also be made to that authority where appropriate. For example, matters in relation to waste management, derelict sites, and air pollution fall under the remit of the relevant Local Authority, while matters in relation to water and wastewater come under the remit of Uisce Éireann.
In the investigation of all such matters, referrals to other HSE social supports may be made by the Environmental Health Officer if necessary and appropriate to assist the homeowner.
1162. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of people in County Meath waiting for diagnostic tests including MRI, CT, ultrasounds and endoscopy, at the latest available data point, in tabular form. [10256/26]
View answerWaiting times for radiology and diagnostic services have been recognised as an issue for some time. This Government is committed to the implementation of the 2017 Sláintecare Report, which includes a maximum waiting time target of 10 days for a diagnostic test.
The roll out of national digital platforms such as the National Integrated Medical Imaging System (NIMIS) and the National Laboratory Information System (MedLIS) are reducing duplication, improving diagnostic accuracy, and enabling secure, rapid information sharing across all public hospitals.
In 2026, the use of digital diagnostic tools will be further expanded under the Productivity and Savings Taskforce Action Plan to increase the number of diagnostic scans, alongside measures to improve the utilisation of diagnostic equipment supporting increased diagnostic capacity.
The NTPF is working to support access to radiology diagnostics and in October 2024 it published a National Radiology Diagnostic Waiting List Management Protocol. As well as ensuring that patients seeking access to Radiology Diagnostic services are administratively managed in a safe, timely, fair, and equitable manner whilst waiting, the protocol will facilitate improved data collection and reporting about patients on radiology diagnostic waiting lists.
In the interim, the information that is currently being collected as part of a pilot project is being tested and validated at hospital, hospital region and national level and as such should not be used/reported without the context of the caveats set out below:
• Data is subject to inclusions and exclusions which are documented in the Data Profile Document. This document is available from Acute Operations and has been circulated to all Hospital Regions.
• Data contains urgent, routine and surveillance/planned activity which is currently not broken down in detail, as such this includes surveillance/planned activity which may not be exceeding planned date.
• Data is still undergoing validation at Hospital and Hospital Region level. Data does not take into account local nuances at site level (Site profile developed to support understanding of same).
• The purpose of this aggregate data is to provide a National Level overview of the number of patients waiting for modalities of CT, MRI and Ultrasound.
• This report is not intended to be used for the active management of hospital diagnostics waiting list, local reports and mechanisms should continue to be used for the management of diagnostics waiting lists at hospital level.
The NTPF provides my Department with quarterly reports which set out waiting list data for CT, MRI and Ultrasound by hospital and time band. The most recent report available for Quarter 4 2025 indicates there was a total of 3,629 patients waiting for such tests in Navan hospital in County Meath. It should be noted that this figure includes all outpatients waiting, urgent, semi urgent, routine and planned/surveillance (where diagnostic access is planned at particular time intervals).
In relation to GI Scopes, adult and child waiting list information by hospital and specialty is published monthly by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) on its website: www.ntpf.ie/home/nwld.htm. Information from April 2021 is now being made available through an interactive visual tool which provides users with a much-improved way of accessing and analysing waiting list information.
1163. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the capacity and access to public dental services in County Meath, including DTSS participation, claims activity and waiting lists for dental, orthodontic, and dental surgery services, for quarter four 2024 and quarterly in 2025, in tabular form. [10257/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
1164. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of GPs and GPs providing GMS services in County Meath, by local health area and per 10,000 population, on 1 December for each year form 2020 – 2025, in tabular form. [10258/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to reply to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
Please note that as GPs are private practitioners, accordingly it may only be possible for the HSE to respond in relation to HSE contracted GPs.
1165. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health the number of people resident in County Meath waiting for a first outpatient appointment at Navan Hospital in each of the past three years 2023, 2024 and 2025 to date, broken down by speciality; and the median and longest waiting times. [10259/26]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
