Results 3,841-3,860 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products (18 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: 1628. To ask the Minister for Health if the eligibility criteria under the drugs payment scheme will be widened for the drug known as saxenda in order that patients who meet two of four criteria (details supplied) will meet the requirements of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1895/23]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for attending and dealing with the queries raised. I thank all staff who worked over Christmas and work week in and week out. It is important to acknowledge staff are in hospitals every weekend, whether consultants, junior doctors or nursing staff. An impression is given that sometimes healthcare is only provided from Monday to Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: But that is recently. Why was the engagement not prior to Christmas? Why was it not in early December or in November?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: I was speaking to them myself.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: No. The survey is quite clear. The survey from Nursing Homes Ireland of 147 nursing homes has said they had 740 beds vacant and they were prepared to take people. Another 63 nursing homes had 117 beds vacant and they were not prepared to take people because they did not have staffing. The survey is quite clear that 740 beds were vacant.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: I will move on now to the transitional care, which was raised earlier. I am not satisfied this is being used effectively. For instance, I have seen situations where a person is discharged out to a nursing home for two weeks and then the support is immediately cut after the two weeks. I know a number of families who had to transfer their elderly parent to another nursing home because the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: But there is great variation across the country with regard to the use of transitional care beds. There is a huge variation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: I apologise for interrupting-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: -----but my understanding-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: Can I just say-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: My understanding is that Nursing Homes Ireland was not contacted by the HSE until after the survey was published as regards getting involved in and having a more co-ordinated plan to get people out of hospital.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: Perhaps Mr. Mulvany could give the committee the dates when contact was made with Nursing Homes Ireland over the last eight weeks.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: Could Mr. Mulvany give it to the committee as I have been getting different information?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: I will move on to another area that relates to elderly people who attend accident and emergency departments. The big problem I have is the number of families who contact me about a person in an accident and emergency department who is frail and has a lot of additional needs and they are left there. Is now the time to look at the structure of accident and emergency departments and to have a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: I have heard of cases of elderly people left in accident and emergency departments for two, three, four and even five days. Surely we owe it to them to make sure that does not arise. They have paid their taxes and made their contributions to the State. Therefore should we now look at the structure of accident and emergency departments and aim to give them the level of care they deserve in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: That is the reason I am raising this.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: I want to raise one final issue, which is the digitalisation of the HSE. Many of the delays in accident and emergency departments occur because a person was in hospital three or four months ago and doctors are trying to get access to his or her file to see what was decided three or four months ago. For instance, in Cork, a person in an emergency who went Cork University Hospital and to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: What about the criticism that has been given by Martin Curley? This has been going on, and I have been raising this issue, for ten years. I spoke to Danish ambassador recently about how, in Denmark, they are down to five different computer systems in their health service. Their medical records are all computerised. They reckon that they are saving €2 billion to €3 billion...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: Exactly. It is not near where it should be.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges Facing Emergency Departments in Public Hospitals: HSE (17 Jan 2023)

Colm Burke: What can we do to make sure that, instead of having a five-year plan, it can be made into a three-year plan? How can we do that and how can we deliver it?