Results 23,301-23,320 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Health Services (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: The dental policy that applies was initiated by the Deputy's party colleague when he was Minister for Health. A new dental policy will be published later this year. The HSE has just appointed a clinical lead in this area, and we will see dental services being given greater priority. However, the issue raised by the Deputy is a practice that takes place in only one region of the country.

Health Services (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: The person concerned is a principal dental surgeon and, as the Deputy knows, clinical independence operates in such areas. That is the policy pursued by that particular dentist, and it would be a matter for the chief dental officer, if he felt the policy was inappropriate, to intervene in the situation. It is certainly not a matter for me.

Mental Health Services (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: So do some of Deputy Reilly's colleagues, actually.

Health Service Investigations (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: The HSE has recently received the report of the independent review undertaken by Dr Maurice Hayes. The review deals with the delay in reporting radiological examinations and the management of GP referral letters at Tallaght Hospital. It is hoped that the findings of the review will be published in the coming weeks. Prior to the separate clinical review of 57,921 X-rays carried out in...

Health Service Investigations (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: This is not my report and it was not in my hands. Dr. Hayes was appointed on 18 March and he has completed and submitted his report. It is being examined by Dr. White and others at the HSE because certain legal issues arise. I have not seen the report nor have I been briefed on it. I hope to see it as soon as the legal position allows. I assure the Deputy that the report will be...

Health Service Investigations (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: The college of radiology was involved in making recommendations on the reading of X-rays and we can make that information available to the Deputy. The letters related to a period between 2002 and 2008 and of course the situation is unacceptable. It is not a policy issue. I think it is a management and operational issue. When we see the report we will be able to determine the management...

Health Service Investigations (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: The terms of reference for Dr. Hayes included the GP referral issue. The HSE carried out an audit of all hospitals following the emergence of the Tallaght issue. The college of radiology was also asked to make recommendations and the HSE intends to publish that report. There seems to be an assumption that all management and administrative staff are in some HSE office, but the vast bulk of...

Health Service Investigations (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: I do not have the information on the HIQA report to hand, but I will revert to the Deputies when the authority makes its report. The purpose of appointing Dr. Hayes was to see what recommendations he would make, having done a thorough job and including a GP, a patient advocate and so on. Following the Tallaght issue, the HSE made contact with every single hospital in the country and their...

Health Service Investigations (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: We will not see it for the foreseeable future. The judge has recommended that it should not be made public because there are possible criminal proceedings on the matter.

Hospital Waiting Lists (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 17 together. Since its establishment in 2002, the National Treatment Purchase Fund has provided over 200,000 public patients with inpatient treatment, diagnostic procedures and outpatient appointments. The median waiting time for medical and surgical patients is now 2.6 months. This is a very significant reduction from an average of between two and...

Hospital Waiting Lists (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: We never measured the lists in that manner, so we must compare like with like. When the NTPF was established a few years ago, there were over 30,000 people waiting over three months and now that list is below 20,000. Clinical leads have recently been appointed by Dr. White to devise appropriate clinical pathways for patients, particularly in respect of access to appropriate outpatient...

Hospital Waiting Lists (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: For next year, we are examining the strong possibility of procuring, for example, orthopaedics from the hospitals because there is a substantial variation between the cost of procedures from one hospital to another.

Hospital Waiting Lists (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: Yes. In other words, we will ring-fence the money for orthopaedics, because it is very measurable, and procure that service based on value for money. Clearly, there is a substantial variation throughout the country in the context of what one can receive for a specific amount of money. That is evident from the case mix. The money taxpayers make available must be used as productively as...

Hospital Waiting Lists (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: All hospitals, including Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, and all regions of the HSE must live within their budgets. No additional money can be made available. There is much scope within hospitals for greater efficiency. University College Hospital, Galway is in the news currently. It has an absentee rate of 7%.

Hospital Waiting Lists (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: I am telling Deputies the measures hospitals must take and we are working to ensure they take them. The Croke Park agreement has a crucial role to play in this regard. University College Hospital, Galway loses 25,500 hours per month through absenteeism. It is being asked to reduce it by 28,000 hours per month. All the problem does not rest with the HSE nationally or with the Department....

Hospital Waiting Lists (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: Will Deputy Ó Caoláin please give me the details? When I look for the details, I never get them.

Health Services: Motion (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann," and substitute the following: "in the context of the current economic challenges facing the country and the need for all regions in the Health Service Executive to operate efficiently within their 2010 budget provision: — notes the huge improvements in recent years in the health of the Irish population, including the...

Health Services: Motion (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: We heard the leader of Fine Gael today talk about black Thursday and the economic challenges this country confronts, which are immense, and about the role Fine Gael will play in addressing those challenges. Notwithstanding that fact, at 3.15 p.m. last Friday this motion was submitted in the name of the deputy leader of Fine Gael. The health service at present consumes 133% of all the income...

Health Services: Motion (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: With regard to those hospitals, Fine Gael proposes to increase funding in Clonmel by €300,000, in Merlin Park by €28 million, in Nenagh by €6.9 million, in Roscommon by €600,000, in Navan by €5.7 million, in Sligo by €18 million, in Letterkenny by €11.1 million, in Wexford by €11.4 million and in Ennis by €10.2 million. That makes €97.9 million on top of the €800...

Health Services: Motion (5 Oct 2010)

Mary Harney: We are not told from where that additional money will come. We are simply asked to provide it.