Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for the opportunity to address this issue in the House. The community funded schemes are a collective name for the many products, supports, supplies and aids and appliances provided through the HSE community services for eligible persons. The schemes' main purpose is to assist and support service users to live at home and to facilitate hospital avoidance and assist with early discharge from hospital. The products are prescribed by consultants, GPs, public health nurses, continence advisers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and dieticians. The products include incontinence wear which is delivered to healthcare settings, such as long-stay residential services, and to persons in their own homes.

The HSE has a national contract for the supply of incontinence products. In addition to providing incontinence wear products to healthcare settings such as long-stay residential services, the HSE provides home deliveries to eligible persons in their own homes.

Following a tendering process, the HSE selected a new product supplier and a new product distributor in 2018. I understand from the HSE that the new contracts have involved a lot of changes in the range of products and their distribution. There have been some issues with the timely delivery of products under the new contract.

In 2018 the HSE put measures in place, including additional staff, an electronic management system and training of drivers to address initial difficulties. The HSE has informed my colleague, the Minister for Health, that it is continuing to work closely with the contracted delivery partners to ensure that the problems experienced by some service users in the community healthcare west region and other community healthcare organisation areas are addressed as a matter of priority.

A governance structure has been put in place to oversee the national contract for the supply and delivery of incontinence products in order to ensure the timely delivery of these products to eligible persons across all CHOs. This involves additional controls and monitoring measures in respect of the ordering and distribution of these products in each CHO. To support this process, additional administration staff have been put in place to carry out this work. The HSE is committed to ensuring these service improvements result in an enhanced and more efficient service for all.

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