Written Answers Nos. 829-849
829. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service records the number of emergency calls where response times exceed 30, 45, 60 and 90 minutes; and if so, the annual totals for each category in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026. [28162/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
830. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether delays exceeding 60 minutes in response to life-threatening emergency calls are ever retrospectively reviewed where no patient safety incident has been formally recorded; and if so, the criteria applied. [28163/26]
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.
831. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has conducted any internal analysis of the relationship between extended ambulance response times and patient outcomes, including morbidity or mortality; and if so, to provide details. [28164/26]
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.
832. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the absence of time-based review thresholds in the National Ambulance Service has been subject to audit, risk assessment, or governance review since 2020. [28166/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs these are operational matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
833. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant paediatric ENT surgeons based at Cork University Hospital as of 17 February 2026, in tabular form. [28173/26]
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.
834. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health the locations within CHO5 where HSE funds day care centre for older persons; the days of the week each of those day care centres opens; the capacity of each of those centres; and the referral process required for new older persons to join one of those centres providing capacity is available, in tabular form. [28174/26]
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.
835. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health the locations within CHO5 where HSE-employed audiologists are based within primary care services as of 17 February 2026; and if she will provide same figures as of 31 December 2023, in tabular form. [28175/26]
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.
836. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total annual expenditure incurred by the HSE on private ambulance services in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2026. [28176/26]
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.
837. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of patient transfers carried out by private ambulance providers on behalf of the HSE in each of the years 2020 to date in 2026. [28177/26]
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.
838. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the proportion of total non-emergency patient transport activity carried out by private ambulance providers compared to the National Ambulance Service in each of the years 2020 to date in 2026. [28178/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
839. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the primary reasons private ambulance services are utilised by the HSE, including whether due to capacity constraints within the National Ambulance Service. [28179/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
840. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any value-for-money analysis has been conducted comparing the cost of private ambulance provision versus expanding publicly operated ambulance capacity. [28180/26]
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.
841. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has a strategic plan to reduce reliance on private ambulance providers and increase in-house capacity, and if so, to outline the timeline and targets. [28181/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
842. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total number of outpatient appointments classified as "did not attend" in each week from January 2025 to date in 2026, broken down by hospital group. [28182/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
843. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the methodology used by the HSE to record and classify the reasons for outpatient non-attendance. [28183/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
844. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether patients are required to explicitly state a reason for non-attendance in order for it to be recorded as attributable to a specific cause. [28184/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
845. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any guidance or instruction was issued to HSE staff in April 2026 regarding the categorisation or reporting of non-attendance figures. [28185/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
846. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of outpatient non-attendance cases attributed to transport issues, cost of living pressures, or protest-related disruption in each week from January 2025 to date. [28186/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
847. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department is satisfied that current data collection practices for outpatient non-attendance are robust, standardised, and free from retrospective reclassification. [28187/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe standardised process for the administrative waiting list management of non-attendance, otherwise known as Did Not Attends (DNA), is set out in Section 7.2 of the OP Waiting List Management Protocol 2022 as published by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF).
National Waiting List Protocols provide guidance to hospital staff working in scheduled care or waiting list management to enable a consistent, standardised and user-friendly approach to the active management and scheduling of patients awaiting access to care.
The protocol is supported by the NTPF National Outpatient Waiting List Minimum Data Set (MDS) which sets out the waiting list reporting requirements to ensure the data the NTPF receive from hospitals is provided in a clear and consistent format. The Outpatient MDS sets out the reporting requirements for DNAs. The NTPF Data Completeness and Data Quality (DCDQ) programme monitors DNA dates and reports are sent to each hospital with details of patient DNAs to assist with patient management in line with the process set out in the OP Waiting List Management Protocol.
848. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to state clearly whether any statutory, regulatory or clinical obligation exists requiring healthcare professionals to report cases in which signs of life are observed following a termination of pregnancy; and if no such obligation exists, the rationale for its absence. [28196/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra849. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health which body holds formal responsibility for clinical governance oversight in cases where signs of life are observed following termination of pregnancy; whether such cases fall under the HSE Incident Management Framework; and if she will outline the escalation pathway. [28197/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra850. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any data relating to cases in which signs of life are observed following termination of pregnancy is captured at hospital level, even if not centrally collated; and whether she will direct the HSE to compile and report such data nationally. [28198/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra851. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she considers that the absence of any national audit, review or reporting mechanism in relation to cases where signs of life are observed following termination of pregnancy represents a deficiency in patient safety governance; and if she will commit to commissioning an independent clinical audit. [28199/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra852. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has examined international clinical governance standards or reporting requirements in comparable jurisdictions regarding cases where signs of life are observed following termination of pregnancy; and if so, the findings of that analysis. [28200/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 848, 849, 850, 851 and 852 together.
As the Deputy's questions relate to service matters, I have referred them to the HSE for direct reply.
