Results 23,081-23,100 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: We need to be honest with people about that.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I reiterate that an additional €7.2 million - this is an increase on outturn - is being provided in the budget for the ambulance services in 2016. That includes €2 million to recruit and train extra staff and also to expand the community first responder scheme. The National Ambulance Service has recently completed a national recruitment campaign and is commencing an...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Services Reform (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Better primary care and better social care are part of the solution to the problems in our hospitals. It is not the entire solution. The Deputy must bear in mind that if more people are seen in a primary care setting, that may result in more referrals to hospitals. On one level, more people will be managed in the community but, on another, more illness will be picked up. If we have much...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Ambulance Service Provision (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Over the past few years, the national ambulance service, NAS, has undertaken significant reconfiguration and modernisation of its services. It now operates on a national and regional rather than a local basis. Ambulance resources, including rapid response vehicles with advanced paramedics, are dynamically deployed over an area from individual stations within, and surrounding, that area....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Services Reform (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I do not accept the analysis that people are on hospital trolleys because GP services cannot cope.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Services Reform (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: That may be true for a small number of patients on trolleys but generally speaking, it is the case that if somebody is on a trolley waiting for a hospital bed, that person is there because he or she has been seen by a doctor, or perhaps by two or three doctors, and those doctors have determined the person requires admission to a hospital. Consequently, the idea there is somehow a direct...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Services Reform (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I believe that is all achievable and affordable in the lifetime of the next Government.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Services Reform (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has embarked on a multi-annual programme of health reform, the aim of which is to deliver universal health care, as defined by the World Health Organization, where everyone can access the health services they need, which are of sufficient quality to be effective, while ensuring that the use of these services does not expose them to financial hardship. In April 2014, the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The latest National Treatment Purchase Fund Waiting List data, published on 8 January last, shows that clear progress was made to reduce the numbers of patients on waiting lists by end December 2015. These figures continue to show the positive trend which was seen in November 2015, with improvements across all waiting list categories. This can be seen in Cappagh Hospital where no patient is...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Beds Data (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The number of acute beds reduced by 1,845 between 2005 and 2011. Last year additional funding of €18 million was provided to support acute hospitals over the winter period by providing additional bed capacity and other initiatives to improve access to care. As a result of this an additional 301 beds were commissioned across various locations and to date 202 of these beds have been...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Groups (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I assume that the Deputy is referring to the review of Emergency Care Units which the Saolta University Hospital Group has been undertaking. The Group has been reviewing emergency medicine in all hospitals within the Group with a view to improving quality and safety of emergency care provided. Each hospital group will be required to develop a strategic plan to describe how it will...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Programme for Government Initiatives (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has embarked upon a major multi annual programme of health reform, the aim of which is to deliver universal healthcare, where all people can access the health services they need, of sufficient quality to be effective, while ensuring that the use of these services does not expose them to financial hardship. In April 2014, the White Paper on Universal Health Insurance was...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Legislative Measures (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Last November I received approval from Government to the drafting of a Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. This Bill is now being drafted as a matter of priority. This is a different Bill to the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill currently before the Houses of the Oireachtas. The latter is effectively a Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) No. 1 Bill, with the other a No. 2 Bill as soon...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ambulance Service Response Times (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Over the past few years, the National Ambulance Service (NAS) has undertaken very significant reconfiguration, and modernisation, of its services. The NAS now operates on a national and regional, rather than a local, basis. Ambulance resources, including rapid response vehicles with advanced paramedics, are dynamically deployed over an area, from individual stations within, and surrounding,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Beds Data (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: As part of the winter capacity planning initiative for 2015/16, an additional 301 beds were commissioned to open on a phased basis to ease pressures in emergency departments. 202 of these beds are open to date and it is expected that the remainder will be available by the end of February. In addition, the HSE identified a further 154 closed beds in the system, which it is intended to re-open...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Long waiting times for scoliosis surgery are unacceptable and I have been clear in my determination that these waiting times are reduced, through additional resources and capacity. Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin is the largest provider of scoliosis surgery for children and young people. Funding was allocated in 2015 for additional consultant posts including two...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is keen to progress academic linkages between hospital groups and their academic partners. The Deputy can therefore be assured that my Department supports the development of academic and teaching capacity at University Hospital Waterford, and recognises the benefits that this will bring in terms of clinical standards and the ability to attract and retain clinical staff....

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mental Health Services Staffing (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: There is an international nursing and medical manpower shortage, leading to difficulties in recruiting nurses, doctors and consultants. This difficulty is being experienced by other English speaking countries including the UK, Australia, and Canada. Notwithstanding this, the HSE Census returns for the end of November 2015 show that we have over 880 more nurses employed in the public health...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Facilities (2 Feb 2016)

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 Services Provision (2 Feb 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I recognise that overcrowding in Emergency Departments is an issue of genuine public concern. It is regrettable when patients experience long waits in Emergency Departments and I appreciate that this can be particularly distressing for patients and their families. The Saolta Group is working with hospitals within its region, including Mayo General Hospital, on an on-going basis to manage and...