Results 25,901-25,920 of 46,081 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Services Data (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: I find it unusual to have to apologise for being courteous to the Deputy but I will take her at her wish. The Deputy is correct in that if we look back to 2007 and compare the figures then to the latest figures, there has been a reduction in the number of community nurses. If the question is pitched in terms of the timelines as the Deputy has done she is correct the figure is down....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Services Data (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: We are not proposing doing more of the same, hence specifically as part of the public sector pay agreement, the stability agreement, there was another agreement with the INMO that issues relating to recruitment and retention of health care professionals would be the first thing to be considered by the second phase of the Public Service Pay Commission’s work. That work is under way....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Health Services Data (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: My mathematics are not brilliant either but the Deputy said she is in the CHO 9 area and I have done a rough calculation. There were 1,971 community nurses there in December 2017 and that had risen to 2,074 in April 2018, which I think is an increase of 103 nurses. I accept the point and am not contesting that we need to continue to do more to get back to where we want to be in respect of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospital Beds Data (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Donnelly for the question. As the Deputy knows, the Government committed to undertaking a health service capacity review in A Programme for a Partnership Government, and this was published last January. This was the first thorough assessment of capacity needs across the health service for more than a decade. In the following month, 2,600 acute beds and 4,500 social care beds...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Hospital Beds Data (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Donnelly for the question. I welcome that there is now a political consensus in this House that we need more acute hospital beds. That was not the practice in the past, even during the previous economic boom where, and I do not mean this in a party political sense, there was a view, even within senior levels of health service management, that we had too many hospital beds in...

Order of Business (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: We have two plans. After years of failed policies of reducing the number of hospital beds, we are going to increase the number of hospital beds in the health service so there is an adequate number of beds. That is why we fully funded the bed capacity review to provide 2,500 more acute hospital beds. Second, we are going to build three elective-only hospitals - one in Dublin, one in Galway...

Order of Business (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: I will revert to the Deputy specifically on a time limit. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the UK, along with the British Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, have been asked to audit all of those files, and that work is about to commence.

Order of Business (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Kenny for the question. If he wants to send me the details as a specific case, I would be happy to ask the HSE to look into it. In general, the Government is both increasing staffing levels and funding to the health service following on from the moratorium put in place by previous Governments.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff Remuneration (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: In 2015, my Department completed a review of the appropriate salary levels for the CEOs of Section 38 funded agencies, in conjunction with the HSE and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The review came about as a result of a recommendation made in the HSE’s Internal Audit Report on remuneration of senior managers in Section 38 agencies.  This recommendation...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff Data (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: Elective orthopaedic services are provided at Merlin Park Hospital.  The Deputy will be aware that in September 2017, leaks developed in the roof of the building that houses the two orthopaedic theatres at Merlin Park Hospital. This necessitated the closure of both theatres in the interest of patient safety. The Saolta University Healthcare Group, with a view to retaining...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointments Delays (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: I acknowledge that Outpatient waiting times are often unacceptably long and I am conscious of the burden that this places on patients and their families. Each year 3.3 million patients attend Hospital Outpatient clinics for appointments, with demand for services growing year-on-year. A key component of the management of waiting lists by hospitals is the categorisation of patients by...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Equipment (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: Saolta University Health Care Group has advised that an equipment failure in recent weeks has impacted the X-Ray Walk-In Service at Roscommon University Hospital.  Normally, GPs refer patients with non-injury related conditions directly to this Walk-In Service.  To facilitate partial continuation of the service, the hospital has leased mobile x-ray equipment on a temporary...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cancer Screening Programmes (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: I am determined that the best result will be delivered for the affected women and their families.  Therefore, it is essential to establish the facts and to agree the actions needed to address the issues raised by the Deputy. It is also important to restore the trust and confidence of women in CervicalCheck.  An independent Scoping Inquiry is being...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists Action Plans (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: Improving waiting times for hospital procedures is a key commitment in the Programme for Government and in 2018 €50 million was allocated to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (or NTPF) to provide treatment for patients. The Inpatient/Day Case Action Plan 2018, which was published in April, outlines the combined approach of the HSE and the NTPF in 2018 to reducing the number of...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Emergency Departments (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: In the context of a difficult winter for our health services, exacerbated by the adverse weather associated with Storm Emma, the first four months of the year saw a higher overall level of trolleys nationally, up 13.9%, as compared with the same period last year. This increase reflects a rise in demand for unscheduled care, characterised by increased attendances and admissions,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: Following an independent review of the need for a second cath lab in University Hospital Waterford, the Herity report concluded that the needs of the effective catchment population for Waterford University Hospital could be accommodated within a single cath lab. Funding has been provided to support extension of the existing cath lab operating hours to 12 weekly sessions per week, or by 20%,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Question Heading (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 60, 67, 115, 123 and 426 together. The Government is committed to the continued development of GP capacity to ensure that patients across the country continue to have access to GP services, especially in remote rural areas and also in disadvantaged urban areas, and that general practice is sustainable in all areas into the future. I want to ensure that...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cancer Screening Programmes (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: As at 24 May 21,228 calls had been received by the CervicalCheck helpline, 11,341 women had requested callbacks and 10.382 women had received callbacks. The rate of call back has been steadily improving and as of 24 May stood at 92 per cent. There is a process of checking records, checking data quality and assigning the callback to a health professional, and the Serious Incident...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Referendum Campaigns (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 64, 117 and 423 together. As the Deputies will be aware, on Friday 25 May 2018 the people of Ireland voted overwhelmingly in favour of deleting Article 40.3.3 in its entirety, and substituting an article in the Constitution, the object and effect of which is to articulate clearly the principle that laws may be enacted by the Oireachtas to provide for the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointments Delays (29 May 2018)

Simon Harris: Improving waiting times for hospital procedures and outpatient appointments is a key commitment in the programme for Government. It is acknowledged that outpatient waiting lists are a challenge which need to be addressed. The development of a sustainable and safe paediatric orthopaedic service, including scoliosis services for children and young people has been prioritised in the...