Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I assume it is a constituent who came to the Deputy so I can only assume he is talking in the context of community healthcare organisation, CHO 4. On behalf of the Minister for Health I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter.

The Health Service Executive provides a wide range of medical aids under the community funded schemes to eligible persons, as set out in the Health Act 1970, free of charge following assessment by a relevant health professional. The HSE oversees the provision and supply of incontinence wear products for eligible persons across Ireland. Provision is based on an appropriate clinical assessment and a determination of the most appropriate products that will meet the individual's needs. These assessments are supported by national guidelines and other educational tools that are available to healthcare staff working throughout the country.

The HSE operates a home delivery service which provides incontinence wear products to more than 70,000 individuals living in their homes. This is a person-centred delivery system, which allows the individual or their carer to vary both the time of delivery and the amount of product delivered, according to their specific needs. It is also possible to alter the location for a particular delivery should the need arise. In the past, individuals have at times been provided with too much or too little product, which is not optimal for the individual person or their families, and the system now in place helps to ensure that these issues are now at a minimum. In addition, the HSE has a bulk delivery system in place for community nursing units and other residential care settings. This also operates on the basis of a regular delivery schedule with a facility to adjust both the amount and timing of the delivery. The HSE also utilises the service provided by public health nurses and continence nurse advisers to assess individual patient needs in order to ensure that the supply of incontinence wear products is appropriate.

As part of the national service improvement programme for the community funded schemes, the HSE has completed and implemented national guidelines in respect of incontinence wear products. Governance arrangements have been strengthened through the implementation of an integrated electronic management system to support the ordering, supply and distribution of incontinence wear products across all healthcare settings, including the home delivery service. The provision of clinically appropriate incontinence wear products to eligible persons is operated by each CHO under a national tender arrangement. The HSE views the appropriate provision of incontinence wear products to eligible persons based on need as a success of the improvement programme. In circumstances where a person does not hold full eligibility, such as a holder of a medical card or a long-term illness scheme card, reimbursement support for incontinence wear products is provided under the drug payment scheme, DPS. While there is no set limit on the quantity, the DPS claim must be supported by a valid prescription for such products.

It is unfortunate that the Deputy had to raise this on the floor of the Dáil but what I see here is that there is no limiting but that it is based on clinical need and assessment. When there is a clinical need assessment done, reducing the amount that is available to two per day does not seem appropriate. Perhaps it is something that needs to be taken up with the public health nurse.

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