Written Answers Nos. 1223-1243
1223. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultants in emergency medicine based at Tipperary University Hospital in the years of 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [45022/24]
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.
1224. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of people on the waiting list for Jigsaw in CHO3 at the end of September 2024. [45023/24]
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.
1225. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the total number of vacancies currently within HSE orthodontic services in County Tipperary. [45024/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
1226. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant interventional cardiologists based at University Hospital Limerick in the years of 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [45025/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy Directly.
1227. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of persons being treated for eating disorders in Tipperary in the years of 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [45026/24]
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.
1228. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE oral and maxillofacial surgeons at Cork University Hospital in 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [45027/24]
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.
1229. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health to outline the progress made in addressing the needs of child scoliosis patients who need surgery; if he will outline his further plans to get on top of this pressing need; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45041/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraScoliosis and Spina Bifida were identified as a priority in both the 2022 and 2023 Waiting List Action Plans (WLAP). The aim of the WLAP is to ensure that patients have more timely access to high-quality scheduled care in our acute hospitals and will improve patient outcomes and patient experiences of our healthcare service. There was an increase in the number of spinal procedures carried out in 2022 and 2023, compared to 2019. The expected reduction in the waiting lists were offset by increases in demand and referrals compared to previous years. These services remain priority areas under the 2024 Waiting List Action Plan.
At my request, a dedicated Paediatric Spinal Surgery Management Unit was established earlier this year to focus on delivering improvements to the spinal waiting lists. This Unit is working on improving capacity within CHI, expanding national outsourcing, and looking to maximise the international support.
A number of international outsourcing initiatives have been finalised for children waiting on spinal surgery. Children have been seen by clinicians from Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York and Great Ormond Street Hospital London.
I have also convened a dedicated stakeholder Paediatric Spinal Taskforce to collaboratively address concerns raised by families and advocacy groups.
I am chairing monthly meetings with the HSE and CHI to ensure that everything that can be done is being done.
1230. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the protections the Mental Health Bill 2024 will offer for people with personality disorders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45042/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Mental Health Act 2001 and regulations made thereunder contain the legislative provisions governing admission to and treatment for mental illness in approved centres.
Nothing in that Act prevents a person from being admitted voluntarily to an approved centre for treatment, including people who have personality disorders.
For a person to be admitted as an involuntary patient, there is a three-stage process involving an initial application, a recommendation from a General Practitioner and an assessment by a Consultant Psychiatrist that the person under examination 'suffers from a mental disorder' and meets the conditions for involuntary admission as set out in Section 3 of the Act.
Individuals with borderline personality disorder may be admitted as involuntary patients, but only if they are also deemed to be ‘suffering from a mental disorder’ and providing they meet the conditions for involuntary admission as set out in section 3 of the Act. This provision remains the same in the new Bill.
Section 8(2) of the Mental Health Act 2001 specifically prohibits the involuntary admission of a person to an approved centre by reason only of the fact that the person:
(a) is suffering from a personality disorder;
(b) is socially deviant; or
(c) is addicted to drugs or intoxicants.
The provisions contained within the new Mental Health Bill, published on 31 July of this year, are primarily based on the recommendations of an Expert Group Review of the 2001 Act. That Expert Group recommended that personality disorders without a co-existing mental disorder that meets the criteria for involuntary admission remain on the exclusions list.
The new Bill revises the criteria for involuntary admission. Section 12(1) states that a person may be involuntarily admitted to a “registered acute mental health centre” (“approved centre” in 2001 Act) if they fulfil each of the criteria for involuntary admission in either subsection (a) or (b) which state:
(a) the person has a mental disorder, the nature and degree of which is such that—
(i) the life of the person, or that of another person, is at risk, or the health of the person, or that of another person, is at risk of immediate and serious harm, and
(ii) if the first-mentioned person were to be admitted to and detained in a registered acute mental health centre—
(I) his or her admission and detention would be likely to reduce the risk he or she poses to himself or herself or others due to his or her mental disorder,
(II) he or she would be likely to benefit from care and treatment that cannot be given to that person other than in a registered acute mental health centre, or
(III) his or her admission and detention would be likely to benefit the condition of that person;
or
(b) the person has a mental disorder, the nature and degree of which is such that—
(i) he or she requires care and treatment immediately,
(ii) the care and treatment required to be given to the person cannot be given to that person other than in a registered acute mental health centre, and
(iii) the reception, detention and care and treatment of the person concerned in a registered acute mental health centre would be likely to benefit the condition of that person.
Improving the experience for individuals accessing mental health services was fundamental to the review of the Mental Health Act 2001. Individuals receiving treatment under the Mental Health Bill 2024 will be empowered to play a more active role in making decisions about their care and treatment, there will be closer alignment between the Mental Health Bill and the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Acts 2015-2022. Additional safeguards will be put in place for individuals, such as additional safeguards on the use of restrictive practices, the right to engage an advocate, and provisions providing for the involvement of family members or carers in a person’s treatment in cases where the person has given their explicit consent.
Importantly, the new Mental Health Bill, along with our national mental health policy, Sharing the Vision, will provide robust legislative and policy frameworks for our mental health services going forward.
The new Bill completed Second Stage in the Oireachtas in September and is awaiting Committee Stage.
1231. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the budget allocation in 2023, 2024 and 2025 for dementia specific day care services in tabular form. [45055/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
1232. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant plastic surgeons at Beaumont Hospital in 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [45056/24]
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.
1233. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health to provide a progress update on the expansion of community intervention teams to prevent unnecessary Hospital admissions and to support the timely discharge of patients to their homes, since January 2022. [45057/24]
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.
1234. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health to provide the estimated full-year costs of employing four additional advanced nurse practitioners. [45058/24]
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.
1235. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE Dietitians by grade working at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, in 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [45059/24]
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.
1236. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health to examine the case of a child (details supplied) needing urgent attention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45063/24]
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.
1237. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the reason people with a condition (details supplied) are signed off from CAMHS at 18 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45064/24]
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.
1238. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the reason there are no standard diagnostic policies or guidelines for diagnosing or treating children with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder in Ireland; what steps are being taken to establish these policies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45065/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra1243. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health when a person will have knee surgery (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45106/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraPrivate health care providers are independent organisations and the range of services available, and the criteria for access to those services does not fall under the remit of the Department of Health.
