Results 26,961-26,980 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Communications (18 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As Minister for Health, I communicate with citizens in plain English, as far as possible. The Department's website was redeveloped recently and content was rewritten in a plain English style. The Department's style guides for officials emphasise the benefits of avoiding jargon, using short, clear sentences and being as concise as possible. As Minister I require all speeches, press releases...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (18 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014,has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Insurance (18 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy is aware, the VHI's application for authorisation is currently under consideration by the independent regulator - the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI). As the process is ongoing, and in advance of a final determination by the CBI, it would not be appropriate at this stage to elaborate further on the information required by the Bank.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Accident and Emergency Department Staffing (18 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: Discussions were held between management at Beaumont Hospital and the INMO at The Labour Relations Commission on 13th and 20th January 2015. A number of measures were agreed to address staffing levels in the Emergency Department. These include: - increasing the number of nurses on days to 12 and the number of nurses on nights to 11, as part of this additional compliment the hospital...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff Data (18 Feb 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: Rare Diseases (18 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Group will be having its official inaugural meeting in the near future. It shall be comprised largely of the members from the National Rare Disease Plan Steering Group. Therefore in answer to your question, as they have not held their inaugural meeting, no meetings were held in 2014. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Access (18 Feb 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 (18 Feb 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: HSE Staffing (18 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: There are a range of psychologist grades within the health service. The different grades are set out in the current consolidated health sector pay scales (1 November 2013) and these cover the full breadth of the psychology grade from Trainee Clinical Psychologist to Director of Psychology and the pay rates for these grades. With regard to the operational aspects of the question, I have...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointment Status (18 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: In relation to the particular query raised, 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 with them.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointment Status (18 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The scheduling of appointments for patients is a matter for the hospital to which the patient has been referred. Should a patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he or she would be in the best position to take the matter up with the consultant and hospital involved. In relation to the specific case raised, as this is a service...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointment Delays (18 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014,has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (17 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Senator Kelly for raising this matter and giving me the opportunity to update the House on our plans for ambulance service improvements this year. I am happy to confirm that those plans include providing more paramedic cover in the west of Ireland, although certainly not one at every crossroads. In 2015, a €5.4 million budget increase has been provided to the National...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Ambulance Service Provision (17 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I would certainly be happy to discuss it with the Minister, Deputy Kelly. As I have said, if they are willing to be trained as community first responders, that would make a lot of sense. I think the possibility of training them to become paramedics would have to be examined carefully to make sure we would have the quality of service we need. The main improvement we want to make in the west...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Public Relations Contracts Expenditure (17 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Senator for raising this issue today. I am advised that the Saolta University Health Care Group has not paid any invoices for external communications support since the start of this year. As outlined to the Senator last week, Saolta University Health Care Group awarded a contract for communications support at the beginning of the year following a competitive tendering process....

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Public Relations Contracts Expenditure (17 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: There are two issue, first, whether the PR communications function should be done in-house or outsourced. My view is that the choice is based on whatever gives the best value for money. If one can do the communications in-house more cost effectively than by outsourcing, that is what one should do. Sometimes public bodies outsource this function because it is more cost effective, cheaper...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Public Relations Contracts Expenditure (17 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I believe it does, unfortunately. One can argue about the amount, but we would all love to live in a world where the health services did not have to worry about media queries or stories that are put out that can very severely damage the reputation of hospitals, small hospitals in particular, and front-line staff, nurses, midwives, doctors or EMTs. Stories that are put into the public domain...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Funding (17 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 344, 345 and 403 together. My Department administers a National Lottery Discretionary Fund from which once-off grants are paid to community and voluntary organisations providing a range of health related services. Senior Citizen, Community and Sports organisations have successfully applied for Lottery grants in the past, depending on the project complying...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointment Status (17 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The scheduling of appointments for patients is a matter for the hospital to which the patient has been referred. Should a patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he or she would be in the best position to take the matter up with the consultant and hospital involved. In relation to the specific case raised, as this is a service...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (17 Feb 2015)

Leo Varadkar: The Saolta Healthcare Group is currently finalising the terms of reference for the external review of practices and processes at the maternity unit at Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe. While the review will incorporate an examination into the care of 7 women who had adverse perinatal events between February and November 2014, my expectation is that the Review Team will be free to examine...