Results 561-580 of 15,389 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (7 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: The best thing would be to arrange a meeting to discuss it. I thank the Senator for her detailed analysis of many problems that exist. There is widespread acknowledgement that there are many problems that must be addressed. Mental health continues to be a priority for the Government. It is reinforced by the fact that funding is increasing and we have given a commitment to continue to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (7 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: Yes, I attended its AGM.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (7 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: I would welcome the opportunity to meet the Senator and go through some of the issues she has raised.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Home Help Service Data (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for her question. As she rightly pointed out, she was part of a process that took place in April 2014. Following the Labour Court recommendations, the HSE implemented the new contracts for HSE home-help staff with the agreement of SIPTU. At the end of April 2016, 33% of the target of 10.4 million home-help hours set in the HSE's national service plan had been...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Home Help Service Data (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: As I mentioned to the Deputy, the information is available locally but has not been collated nationally. That is something the HSE has not done and it believes it would not be possible to allocate the resources to collate those data. There are a number of reasons for reducing home-help hours. Sometimes it is down to the individual carer for various reasons. In other cases it is due to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Home Help Service Data (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: Every hour that is available will be used up. All funding that has been allocated for home help and home-care packages will be used up. The 2016 national service plan provides for 10.4 million home-help hours. Home-care packages are measured separately but we need to move towards measuring them in the same way. On the question of home-care packages, we will be moving from 15,450 people...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Mental Health Services Provision (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He is right that many mental health problems arise at a very young age, sometimes a younger age than people like to speak about or even admit. Inappropriate admissions is a very sensitive issue. The reduction in the number of children admitted to adult psychiatric units continues to be a priority for the HSE's mental health services and it is a...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Mental Health Services Provision (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: I agree with the Deputy that we are nowhere near where we need to be. As he rightly pointed out, we have four acute inpatient child and adult mental health services, CAMHS, units in Dublin, Cork and Galway. We have additional resources and facilities, which means we have 69 CAMHS teams. 4 o’clock While I admit they are not all full, we need to get to a position where the teams...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Mental Health Services Provision (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: Yes.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Mental Health Services Provision (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: Regarding the figures, in 2015 there were a total of 356 child and adolescent mental health admissions, of which 73% were to age-appropriate units and 27% were to adult units. In May 2016, the most recent figures available, 97.2 of the bed days used were in child and adolescent inpatient units, which is an improvement of 95.4% on April. Our target is 95%. We are steadying out at the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Mental Health Services Provision (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: A number of new Jigsaw programmes are coming down the line. It is not possible for every area and not every area wants or needs one. I was in Carlow only last week, which has an excellent service but it is not necessarily needed. If an area would like the service those concerned need to work on that themselves. If they do not, then there are other services.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Mental Health Services Provision (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: The fundamentals of A Vision for Change have not changed and will not change. The review has to make sure that we do not just focus on mental illness; we need to focus on health and well-being and move more towards the community setting. The review is taking place and the tender has gone out. We hope that once the tender is approved and the review is finalised at the end of the year, in...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Home Help Service (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for his question and agree that we would all live longer, healthier and happier lives if we live in and are part of our communities. The HSE provides a range of community based services aimed at ensuring older people receive safe, timely and appropriate care and treatment at the lowest level of complexity and as close to home as possible. Home support services in...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Home Help Service (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: We all recognise that there are serious problems in the system. When I say that I am happy, I mean that I am happy we have been able to allocate an additional €40 million in funding, which will help in the different cases mentioned by the Deputy. Unfortunately, we all know of similar cases within our constituencies. They are brought to my attention daily. As I pointed out, the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Home Help Service (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: I fully agree with the Deputies. We know that in the first quarter of last year there was a significant increase in requests for home help and home support. To ensure that number did not drop this year, funding was allocated which meant significant additional funding had to be allocated. This is the €40 million to which I have referred. I believe this will not just level out the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Mental Health Services Report (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: A Vision for Change has guided national mental health policy over the past ten years and, as the Deputy rightly said, its term has come to an end. The Department published a request for tender last month to invite parties interested in undertaking a review of A Vision for Change to express an interest in doing so. The Department's requirements are for experts to review and analyse national...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Mental Health Services Report (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: I agree with the Deputy that progress has been slower than initially anticipated but it continues to be made in implementing the report's recommendations. As the Deputy rightly pointed out, the vision has not changed. While the review is under way, we are continuing to implement the report. In recent years, the Government has provided an additional €160 million in ring-fenced...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Mental Health Services Report (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: To reiterate, it is my view that we should have some form of oversight committee. While the review may seem like a long time, if we wait until the end of the year to implement the committee, it will have oversight of what we have implemented to date and of the recommendations being put in place by the review committee itself. We must continue to focus on moving towards a more...

Topical Issue Debate: Home Care Packages Funding (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which we know is extremely important from the questions which were asked during Question Time. Our population is ageing rapidly. Advances in health care are leading to a dramatic rise in our older population. Each year, the total number of persons over the age of 65 grows by approximately 20,000. We can see what the figures will be in the coming...

Topical Issue Debate: Home Care Packages Funding (12 Jul 2016)

Helen McEntee: This is a priority for me. There is a major flaw in the system, in that significant amounts of money are being used to keep people in hospital and acute units when we know that the financial benefits to the HSE and the Department in keeping them at home are considerable. There are also the physical benefits. When people are surrounded by their families and involved in their communities,...