Results 20,801-20,820 of 46,095 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointments Delays (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual. The National...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointments Delays (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual. The National...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointments Delays (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual. The National...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ambulance Service (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: As this is a service issue, I have asked the HSE to reply to you directly. 

Written Answers — Department of Health: Office of Government Procurement (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: The Office of Government Procurement has responsibility, together with sectoral partners, for putting in place framework agreements and contracts through which public sector bodies can buy goods and services. The Office is also responsible for procurement policy and procedures, sourcing systems and data analytics. With regard to the company (details supplied), the Deputy will be aware that my...

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Maternity Hospital Status (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 203 and 204 together. The terms of the Mulvey agreement provide for the establishment of a new company which will have clinical and operational, as well as financial and budgetary independence in the provision of maternity, gynaecology and neonatal services. At present, a draft legal framework is being finalised which will ensure that the State's...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cancer Screening Programmes (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: The CervicalCheck clinical audit process included 1,482 cases of cervical cancer notified to CervicalCheck since 2008. In April, the Serious Incident Management Team identified that there were 209 women for whom clinical audit results should have been disclosed but that in the majority of cases, this had not happened. The initial focus was on ensuring these 209 women were...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cancer Screening Programmes (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: Contact has been made with 208 of the 209 women who were part of the original audit whose cytology results were known to have a different interpretation as a result of the audit. The one remaining woman who has not yet been informed has emigrated. Efforts are continuing to contact this woman through Department of Foreign Affairs. As of 22 June, HSE Liaison Officers had held 155...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cancer Screening Programmes (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: The SCA, in collaboration with the relevant laboratories in the individual cases, is committed to resolving these cases in line with the principles outlined by the Government, expediting resolution of the cases in a sensitive manner, utilising mediation wherever possible and placing a high priority on treating the people who have made the claims, and their families, with dignity and...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Open Disclosures Policy (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: The Government recently gave approval to the drafting of legislative provisions to provide for mandatory open disclosure through the development of the General Scheme of a Patient Safety Bill. The General Scheme has been developed by officials of my Department, with a view to having this item brought to the Government for consideration in early July 2018. It is hoped that it will be...

Written Answers — Department of Health: HSE Board (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: The legislation to establish an independent Board for the HSE is being drafted as a priority and the Minister expects to publish the Bill in July. The Minister hopes to have cross-party support to bring the Bill through the Oireachtas as quickly as possible to ensure its early passage, subject to the legislative schedule. He intends to establish the Board once the legislation has been passed.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Reports (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: The successful delivery of the ambitious reform plans envisaged in the Sláintecare report will be a significant undertaking and needs to be translated into a detailed and phased programme of work to be delivered over a ten year timeframe. In this regard, my Department is currently finalising an implementation plan in response to the Sláintecare report, with a focus on the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Audiology Services Provision (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: The HSE advises that it is proceeding with a precautionary recall of children and young adults in CHO5 (Counties Waterford, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and South Tipperary) for further assessment following an audit, as part of a quality assurance process. This recall follows an analysis of the quality of service delivery in the area against the standards for such services that were set out...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Electric Vehicles (27 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: My Department's new Headquarters in Miesian Plaza has two e-charging points.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: General Practitioner Contracts (28 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for his question. He is correct to highlight the fact that there are number of challenges facing general practice we need to work on, including the resourcing and, most importantly, ensuring it is well positioned to serve the community now and into the future in line with the Sláintecare report. It is important to acknowledge the factual situation. The number of GPs...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: General Practitioner Contracts (28 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: I believe we are following the correct sequence to bring about a new GP contract. It is the position of the Deputy's party and of all parties in the House that the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, has a crucial role in how we do our business in respect of industrial relations. The Irish Medical Organisation is a member of ICTU and it is the body with which successive Governments,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: General Practitioner Contracts (28 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: While it has taken longer to negotiate a new GP contract than I would have liked, I should point out that we are discussing a contract that has been in place since 1989 and we are going to deliver significant reforms to general practice. Deputy Harty has been a strong advocate for this for a number of years as well. I believe the sequence we are following is correct. If a different...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Paediatric Services (28 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy O'Reilly for the question and for the opportunity to update the House on the progress we are making on the scoliosis waiting list and, more importantly, what we will do next. The long-term strategy to develop sustainable scoliosis services has been prioritised by my Department and the HSE in the 2018 HSE national service plan. The Deputy is correct that the country was...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Paediatric Services (28 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: The Deputy is right. If I was just saying I was sorry or listing a number of things we will do in the future that would not be enough but that is not a fair representation of what I have said or done. There will be 447 spinal procedures carried out in 2018, compared with 371 in 2017 and 224 in 2016. The figures do not lie and we are dramatically increasing the number of scoliosis...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Paediatric Services (28 Jun 2018)

Simon Harris: When the Deputy highlighted this issue with me in the Dáil last week, or perhaps it was her party leader, I asked the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, to ensure that all the proper protocols and procedures are being followed. I have no evidence to suggest they are not but in light of the Deputy raising it I have asked to make sure that is the case and I will correspond with her...