Written Answers Nos. 694-708
694. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health to provide specific details in relation to the rate of recovery for those attending long-Covid clinics, including length of time attending the clinic and how recovery has been defined. [33599/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
695. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health how many patients have been seen through long-Covid clinics, with a breakdown per clinic. [33600/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
697. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health to confirm what training GPs have received in relation to long-Covid; who provided this training; and if it is not included in the training of new GPs. [33602/23]
View answerTo ensure that people who need care have access to it, the HSE has developed and is currently implementing a plan to provide Long Covid services nationally. The investment allocated to this service has trebled in 2023 to 6.6 million.
The Model of Care for Long Covid provides a framework for service delivery including care through GP services, community-led interventions and specialist consultant-led clinics. Many patients with symptoms of Long Covid are successfully managed by GPs through advice, education and self-management supports. For some patients however, further assessment and additional supports may be required.
Online resources for self-management of symptoms, and training for healthcare workers have been developed by the HSE. Most recently, in order to provide specific guidance to GPs, an update on the implementation of the Model of Care was published as an article in the March edition of the ICGP ‘Forum’ publication.
The European Commission has established a high-level informal network of expertise on Long COVID. This will bring together national experts to exchange countries’ experiences and best practices on the diagnosis, treatment, and management of Long COVID patients across different countries. Ireland through the HSE, is participating in this Committee with the next meeting being held September.
698. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health whether a pandemic response register exists in his Department; if so, to outline what assumptions, restrictions and response plans are contained within it; and how closely these were followed during the pandemic. [33603/23]
View answerPandemics occur when an infectious disease emerges and spreads globally. Whilst they do not tend to occur frequently, they are unpredictable events which have the potential to overwhelm the normal health services and severely disrupt the normal social and economic activities of the country, as we have seen through the COVID19 pandemic. Pandemics are identified as a national risk in the National Risk Assessment processes.
As their potential impact is difficult to predict, pandemic preparedness plans or pandemic response registers must be risk-based and flexible in order to enable an appropriate and proportionate response. My Department’s Pandemic Influenza Plan was published in 2007 and was the subject of a detailed review, conducted on foot of the Departmental and HSE response to the 2009/10 Swine Flu Pandemic in 2013. Additional work was conducted in 2019 to update the Department’s Pandemic Plan.
Many of the measures put in place in response to the COVID19 pandemic drew on and further developed actions outlined in the 2007 plan, the recommendations of the 2013 review and work carried out in 2019. This included the establishment of a National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) for COVID 19 in January 2020. A NPHET is an established mechanism for coordinating the health sector response to significant public health emergencies which has been utilised previously a number of times to provide a forum to steer strategic approaches to public health emergencies in Ireland and mobilise the necessary public health and wider health response. For example, National Public Health Emergency Teams have been established in response to public health threats, including H1N1 (swine flu) and CPE (Carbapenemase Producing Enterobacterales). This public health approach is also in line with the advice of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Throughout its existence the NPHET for COVID19 oversaw and provided national direction, guidance, support and expert advice on the development and implementation of a strategy to contain COVID-19 in Ireland. It advised Government on the public health aspects of what was a cross-Government response to COVID-19 as informed by Ireland's National Action Plan in response to COVID-19.
In the context of COVID19 a range of work is currently ongoing nationally and internationally which continues to strengthen pandemic preparedness. The Department and the HSE are engaging on a range of related issues on pandemic preparedness including reviewing the lessons from COVID19, updating preparedness planning for public health emergencies and carrying out exercises to test preparedness.
699. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health whether long-Covid clinics are prescribing medications; and if so, what medications they have been recommended to prescribe by the HSE. [33604/23]
View answerAs the matter raised is a service delivery matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
700. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health to outline the medical basis for the decision to recommend that children return to school three days after they have had a positive Covid test; and the reasoning that this recommendation was put forward by the HSE. [33605/23]
View answerAs the matter raised is a service delivery matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
701. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health to outline the reason behind the decision to remove mandatory masks in lexical settings; and the evidence used to make this decision. [33606/23]
View answer702. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health what actions the HSE is taking to prevent the spread of Covid in hospital settings, including details of all precautions taken.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33607/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 701 and 702 together.
Please note there is a typo in the above PQ it should read 'To ask the Minister for Health to outline the reason behind the decision to remove mandatory masks in medical settings; and the evidence used to make this decision.'As the matter raised is a service delivery matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
704. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to address the shortage of GPs in the west Cork area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33609/23]
View answerThe Government recognises that there are significant challenges facing general practice, and that these challenges limit access to GP services in certain areas, including West Cork and impact on the timely provision of care.
GPs are self-employed practitioners and therefore may establish practices at a place of their own choosing. There is no prescribed ratio of GPs to patients and the State does not regulate the number of GPs that can set up in a town or community.
Under the GMS scheme, the HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. Currently there are 2,545 GPs contracted to provide services under the GMS Scheme.
Where a vacancy arises in a practice with a GMS contract, the HSE becomes actively involved in the recruitment process to find a replacement GP. While recruitment is ongoing, the HSE put a locum or other suitable arrangement in place to provide continuity of care for the area concerned. As of the start of the month, there are 31 GMS vacancies across the country, approximately 1 percent of the total number of GMS panels. There are no GMS vacancies in West Cork.
While the HSE provides a contribution towards locum expenses for leave taking purposes to GPs under the GMS contract, as private practitioners, locum cover is arranged by the GP concerned as necessary. The relevant HSE Community Health Organisation will assist a GMS GP in providing locum cover where possible.
As was announced last week, agreement has been reached with the IMO to extend eligibility for GP visit cards to people who earn up to the median household income and to children aged 6 & 7. Approximately 500,000 additional persons are expected to become eligible for free GP care under this expansion, the largest expansion of access to GP care without charges in the history of the State. This new GP agreement includes additional capacity supports to enable the expansion and retention of staffing within general practice. It includes additional supports for GP Out of Hours services. A new form of practice grant will also be made available to GPs for additional support staff, in addition to an increase in the existing Practice Support Subsidy.
A ring-fenced fund of €0.6m is being made available to support the delivery of an initiative to support rural GPs, including assistance sourcing locum cover. The HSE will collaborate with the IMO to implement this element of the Agreement.
In relation to the specific staffing matter raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
705. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health the reasons for a lack of awareness of the complaints management system as referenced in the June 2023 HIQA Report of an Inspection Against the National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare concerning UHL; the measures that will be taken to address this; his views on how this affects accuracy of complaints received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33618/23]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
706. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health when the membership and the review of the terms of reference of the Deteriorating Patient Steering Committee at UHL will be concluded; the progress made to date; the measures taken to ensure appropriate implementation of the Irish National Early Warning System, the Irish Maternity Early Warning System and sepsis management; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33619/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
707. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health to provide a capital and revenue cost for an intermediate care bed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33621/23]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
708. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will give due consideration to the granting of life long medical cards for survivors of child, adolescent, and young adult (CAYA) cancers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33646/23]
View answerMedical Card provision is primarily based on financial assessment. In accordance with the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for a medical card is determined by the HSE, which assesses each application on a qualifying financial threshold.
The issue of granting medical or GP visit cards based on having a particular disease or illness was previously examined in 2014 by the HSE Expert Panel on Medical Need and Medical Card Eligibility. The Group concluded that it was not feasible, desirable, nor ethically justifiable to list medical conditions in priority order for medical card eligibility. In following the Expert Group’s advice, a person’s means remains the main qualifier for a medical card.
However, every effort is made by the HSE, within the framework of the legislation, to support applicants in applying for a medical card and, in particular, to take full account of the difficult circumstances in the case of applicants who may be in excess of the income guidelines. The HSE may exercise discretion and grant a medical card, even though an applicant exceeds the income threshold where they face difficult financial circumstances, such as extra costs arising from an illness. Social and medical issues are also considered when determining whether undue hardship exists for an individual accessing general practitioner or other medical services.
The HSE also has a compassionate system in place for the efficient provision of medical cards in response to emergency situations i.e., where persons are in need of urgent ongoing medical care or when a patient is receiving end of life treatment. In these cases, a medical card is issued within 24 hours of receipt of the required patient details and completed medical report by a healthcare professional. In addition, since March 2021, persons who have been certified by their treating Consultant as having a prognosis of 24 months or less are now also awarded a medical card on an administrative basis. This measure delivered the Programme for Government commitment to extend eligibility for medical cards to persons with a terminal illness and work is continuing to develop a legislative framework to underpin this administrative scheme. Medical cards awarded on end of life grounds are never re-assessed by the HSE thereby providing reassurance and comfort to patients and their families.
Separately, I can advise the Deputy that, since 2015, medical cards are awarded without the need of a financial assessment to all children under 18 years of age with a diagnosis of cancer. Further information can be found on the HSE’s website at www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/medical-cards/other-types-of-medical-card/emergency-medical-cards/.
I can assure the Deputy that, to ensure the medical card system is responsive and sensitive to people's needs, my Department keeps medical card issues under review and any changes are considered in the context of Government policy and other issues which may be relevant.
