Results 14,541-14,560 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Health: Accident and Emergency Departments (27 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Patient Data (27 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (27 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: 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 Waiting Lists (27 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: 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 Waiting Lists (27 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: 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 NTPF previously...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (27 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 and 144 together. As these are service matters, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ambulance Service Provision (27 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (27 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: 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. In relation to the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (27 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: 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 Appointment Delays (27 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: 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 scheduling...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Patient Safety Agency Establishment (28 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I am strongly of the view that any new patient advocacy service should be set up independently of the HSE from the outset. For this reason, the HSE removed reference to the establishment of an interim patient advocacy agency from its service plan for 2015. My view has been supported by the recent recommendation made in the HIQA investigation report on services at Portlaoise hospital on the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Patient Safety Agency Establishment (28 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: No. The Minister, Deputy Brendan Howlin, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform had no role to play in the decision, rather it was a policy decision taken by me. The plan before I took office was to establish a patient safety agency as a sub-agency of the HSE and the post of CEO of that sub-agency was advertised. The CEO would have been an employee of the HSE. I decided,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Patient Safety Agency Establishment (28 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: How?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Patient Safety Agency Establishment (28 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I am very glad that we agree that a patient advocacy service is needed and that it should be independent. It is not the case that HIQA's recommendations are ignored, as significant numbers are implemented. That has been the case, particularly in matters around hospital hygiene. The reports show that we now have the lowest MRSA rates in years. For example the rates for Clostridium...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Cancer Services (28 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: University Hospital Waterford has experienced problems in recent months in achieving the target set by the National Cancer Control Programme for rapid access to prostate clinics. The target is that 90% of patients be seen within 20 days of receipt of a referral. A number of actions have been taken by the hospital to improve the timelines of access for patients to prostate cancer services....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Cancer Services (28 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: It is a side point but it is important to get the facts right, in particular if some of this is going to be covered in local media. Approximately one in six new patients are diagnosed with cancer on referral, not half. What Deputy Halligan is including there are people who were already diagnosed previously and are returning to clinics.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Cancer Services (28 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I wish to be clear on that. It is not that half of people referred have prostate cancer. That would never be the case for a cancer clinic. What has happened is University Hospital Waterford needed more staff and it was hard to get the staff. The private sector has had to be used in the interim and will be used if needs be. I do not like doing that but I have no qualms doing it if it...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Cancer Services (28 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I said we appointed one urologist already and another will start next month. In view of the growing population and the fact that there will be more older men every year for the next 20 years or 30 years - I will get there at some point - we will need to increase the number of urologists every year. It may well be the case that we need to double the number of urologists in the next five to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (28 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Reducing long waiting times for hospital treatment is a key priority for the Government. Last January, taking into account current pressures on acute hospital services, I directed the HSE to ensure maximum permissible waiting times for inpatient and day case treatment, or a first consultant-led outpatient appointment, of 18 months by mid-year and 15 months by year end. In February, shortly...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (28 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I am not aware of any particular abuse that has been identified. If the Deputy wants to write to me with the details and evidence, I will certainly have the matter investigated, as is always the case. As this initiative has only started in the past couple of weeks, it is too soon, obviously, to have it audited. It is necessary. Having people waiting so long for outpatient appointments and...