Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his work. I highlight the issue of section 39 service providers to disability and intellectual disability service users. It is commendable how they have adapted so quickly to the changed set of circumstances and how they have managed to keep Covid-19 infection at bay but they are now facing a dual challenge of the cost incurred due to risk of infection coupled with a perfect storm of underfunding and a 1% efficiency cut imposed by the HSE. It is simply not feasible for section 39 providers to take hit after hit and be expected to provide the same high level of care that is, in many circumstances, beyond a basic social care model. Those providers need the support of the Minister and the Government to deal with the additional costs. Will section 39 providers be compensated for expenses incurred as a result of this pandemic, including the purchase of PPE, taking on agency staff and other costs?

Thanks to the collective efforts of front-line staff, all agencies, the Minister, the Government and the people of Ireland, we have managed to suppress the spread of the virus in the community. We have prevented the overwhelming of our healthcare system. We now face the new crisis of ever-growing waiting lists for non-Covid hospital appointments. Waiting lists were at a critical level in the public system for some time before the pandemic and that point is now also being reached in the private system. I seek the support of the Minister to design an element of flexibility within the arrangement between private hospitals, consultants and the HSE. Even at this stage as we, hopefully, exit the health phase of the crisis, we can offer an opportunity for consultants and private hospitals to again see their patients, to deal with non-Covid patients in the public system and to build capacity once again to reduce those waiting lists.

The Minister mentioned my constituency and Aut Even Hospital in Kilkenny which is running at between 33% and 36% bed capacity. Healthcare staff want to do their jobs and reduce the burden on services. We do not know if there will be a second wave of Covid-19 coupled with a winter flu later this year and we need to prepare for that.

Will he come to an arrangement to urgently allow a degree of flexibility for consultants to see their patients? There were, as I understand it, proposals around B and C contracts to build in that flexibility but they were denied at the time.

Will he provide the House with an update on the commencement of videofluoroscopy scans at Temple Street Hospital? Many families are awaiting vital scans for their children while Temple Street is awaiting clear direction from the HSE to recommence scans.

Is there a case to be made for the provision of PPE to allow an opportunity to family members and loved ones of patients in a hospice setting where there is no virus to pay a final visit and say goodbye? My understanding is that this is currently not the case and that direction is required from the HSE and NPHET regarding family visits to hospice settings.

I tabled a question, No. 380, to the Minister on the Covid channel on 27 April. In response, the Minister referred the matter to the HSE for answer. It is now a calendar month later. I have followed up on the matter twice and still have received no response. Is it not important when a roadmap to our country's recovery is based on statistical information that we know how many people were referred for testing because they presented with symptoms but were never tested, or tested too late to give a positive result? Does the Minister agree that the prevalence of referral without follow-up has led to a lack of public confidence in the HSE's capacity to test in a timely manner and will he explain the delay in the HSE's provision of this data?

I wish to commend the network of community sewists across the island who are making and distributing DIY cloth face masks to vulnerable groups. Will the Department run television advertisement campaigns to highlight their effective use and washing? Will the Department advocate for more widespread use of cloth masks?

Finally, can the Minister provide the House with an update regarding progress towards achieving a second cath lab for University Hospital Waterford? The deficits within the south east have been well documented and the region needs absolute clarity on this matter.

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