Results 16,621-16,640 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Improving waiting times for scheduled care for patients is a key priority for the Government. In January, I put in place maximum permissible waiting times for in-patient and day case treatment and outpatient appointments of 18 months by 30 June and 15 months by year end. The HSE was provided with additional funding of €51m to ensure that these maximum waiting times would be achieved....

Written Answers — Department of Health: Accident and Emergency Departments (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Last December I convened the ED Taskforce to provide focus and momentum in dealing with the challenges presented by ED overcrowding. Significant progress has been made to date on the ED Taskforce Plan implementation Additional funding of €117m has been provided in 2015 to relieve pressures on acute hospitals including reducing delayed discharges, lowering the waiting time for...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Accident and Emergency Departments (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Last December I convened the ED Taskforce to assist in dealing with the challenges presented by ED overcrowding. Significant progress has been made to date on the ED Taskforce Plan implementation . Additional funding of €117m has been provided in 2015 to relieve pressures on acute hospitals including reducing delayed discharges, lowering the waiting time for Fair Deal funding and...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff Recruitment (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: We have now moved from a time of retrenchment with a moratorium on public sector recruitment to a time of recovery and building for the future. With a recovering economy, the Health Service Executive is now in a position to offer a wide range of career opportunities for nurses and midwives. Recruitment of additional nurses and consultants is the subject of considerable ongoing activity by the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Vaccination Programme (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: In Ireland, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) is the regulatory authority for medicines in Ireland. There are 2 licensed HPV vaccines available in Ireland (Gardasil®and Cervarix®). Gardasil®is the vaccine used by the HSE in the School Immunisation Programme and over 100,000 girls have received this vaccine since its introduction. The vaccine protects against two...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Government is working to ensure that long waiting times for scoliosis surgery are reduced. The focus is on additional resources and capacity. Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin is the largest provider of scoliosis surgery for children and young people. Additional funding was allocated in 2015 for additional consultant posts including two consultant orthopaedic...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Care Professionals (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Physiotherapists Registration Board will soon make the necessary bye-laws under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 to allow it to establish its register early next year. The title of physiotherapist will, as a consequence, be protected for the exclusive use of the board's registrants when the register's 2 year transitional period ends in 2018. I am currently examining...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Negligence Cases (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The management of clinical negligence cases taken against the HSE is delegated to the State Claims Agency (SCA) which has a statutory mandate to investigate and manage these cases to completion. I am advised that the SCA, wherever it is proper to do so, based on expert medical and legal advice, admits breach of duty at the earliest possible opportunity to avoid distress to patients and their...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Universal Health Insurance (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The reports detailing the estimated cost of the UHI model outlined in the White Paper on Universal Health Insurancewere published on the 18 November. Having deliberated on the findings, I concluded that the high costs involved in introducing the White Paper model of UHI are not acceptable and have, therefore, decided that there is a need for further research and cost modelling in relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Staff Recruitment (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As stated in the HSE’s National Service plan, the staff of the health services continue to be its most valuable resource. There are almost 120,000 personnel involved in the delivery of public health care, of which over 34% are nurses. Details for nurse staffing over the last 10 years are set out in the following table: Nurse Employment Dec 2005 to October 2015 Division Nursing WTE...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospitals Capital Programme (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Government announced the national capital envelope for the multi-annual period 2016-2021 in September 2015. The notified health capital envelope for this period is €3,061 million which includes an increase of €568m. The following table shows the annual allocation. Multi-annual period 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total €m €m €m €m €m...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (3 Dec 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 Services (3 Dec 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: Accident and Emergency Departments (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Dublin Midlands Hospital Group is committed to securing and further developing the role of Portlaoise Hospital as a constituent hospital within the group. Substantial investment and enhancement measures have been put in place to ensure a safe level of services at the hospital. Some of its services are receiving significant investment. These include maternity, paediatric emergency triage,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Accident and Emergency Services Provision (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: ED overcrowding is a priority issue for the Government. Last December I convened the ED Taskforce to assist in dealing with the challenges presented by ED overcrowding. Significant progress has been made to date on the ED Taskforce implementation. Additional funding of €117 million has been provided in 2015 to relieve pressures on acute hospitals. In preparation for the 2015/16...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Respite Care Services (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Charges for the maintenance element of long-stay in-patient services – which may include respite in-patient services and which apply to adults with full or limited eligibility – are provided for under the Health (Amendment) Act 2005 and the Health (Charges for In-Patient Services) Regulations 2005, as amended. Children under the age of 18 are exempt from these charges. On...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The University of Limerick Hospitals Group is committed to reducing waiting times for out-patient appointments, not only in University Hospital Limerick, but across the Hospital Group. An Outpatient Lead has been appointed to oversee the management of the waiting list, and improvements in waiting time performance are being achieved. The Group achieved the maximum permissible waiting...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (3 Dec 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: Health Services Provision (3 Dec 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The IBTS currently provides a haemochromatosis service at three centres, two in Dublin and one in Cork. The service is provided free of charge and, where patients meet all the normal blood donation criteria, they can become blood donors. Where a regular donor (someone who has donated within the previous two years) is diagnosed with haemochromatosis, they can continue to donate and have their...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (3 Dec 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...