Results 37,621-37,640 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic the HSE had to take measures to defer most scheduled care activity in March, April, and May of this year. This was to ensure patient safety and that all appropriate resources were made available for Covid-19 related...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: In recent years, my Department has worked with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to improve access for patients waiting for high volume procedures, including cataracts. Ophthalmology services are provided throughout all hospital groups in the country, with cataract removal one of the key procedures carried out as part of this specialty. A key development in...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic the HSE had to take measures to defer most scheduled care activity in March, April, and May of this year. This was to ensure patient safety and that all appropriate resources were made available for Covid-19...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Projects (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 792 and 793 together. As the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to the deputy directly in relation to this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Data (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: As the Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, I have asked the HSE to respond to the deputy directly in relation to this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Provision (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 795 to 797, inclusive, together. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an increased focus in 2020 on deployment of eHealth initiatives to support both acute and community care. Within weeks of the first wave of the pandemic, solutions such as telehealth and electronic transfer of prescriptions were implemented, followed shortly afterwards by the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Children's Hospital (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Under the contract, the new children's hospital is due to be completed by the end of 2022 and handed over to Children's Health Ireland to open in 2023 after a period of commissioning.  There will be delays associated with the requirement to cease works on the site of the new Children’s Hospital due to Covid-19 restrictions. As of March 2020, when the site closed due to Covid-19,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Maternity Hospital (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The project to co-locate relocation of the National Maternity Hospital on the St Vincent’s University Hospital Campus is progressing.  Site preparatory and enabling works, required to support the relocation of the new National Maternity Hospital, are underway at present and consists of Aspergillus prevention works, campus infrastructural upgrade works, enabling works / site...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Centres (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The development of Primary Care Centres (PCCs) is a key building block in enabling the vision of Sláintecare to become a reality. The latest report from the HSE indicated that there are 135 Primary Care Centres fully operational nationwide. Six of these have become operational so far in 2020, and a further six are expected to open by the end of the year. This represents good progress...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Reform (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The Programme for Government commits to ongoing implementation of the Sláintecare vision at the highest levels through the “Cabinet Committee on Health, chaired by the Taoiseach, giving overall strategic direction, and overseeing the implementation of Sláintecare”. The Government recognises the need for enhanced governance and accountability in the health service,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Data (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic the HSE had to take measures to defer most scheduled care activity in March, April, and May of this year. This was to ensure patient safety and that all appropriate resources were made available for Covid-19...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The Government's medium-term strategy Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19, sets out Ireland's approach to managing and living with COVID-19 in a range of areas over the next 6-9 months. The Plan sets out five levels of response, each with a number of measures designed to help us all lower COVID-19 transmission and setting out what is permitted at that moment in...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Staff (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The Healthcare Assistance initiative, whereby student nurses and midwives were offered temporary contracts, was in response to the Covid19 outbreak and ceased in August 2020. This initiative was only ever intended as a temporary measure to provide additional support to the national effort. It also offered some protection to the ongoing education of student nurses and midwives as their...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: General Practitioners are self-employed private practitioners, most of whom have contracts with the HSE to provide services under various public health schemes. There are no plans at present to directly employ general practitioners. The 2019 GP Agreement includes a commitment to undertake a strategic review of GP services within the lifetime of the Agreement, to examine how best to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The Government is aware of the workforce issues currently facing general practice and has implemented a number of measures to improve recruitment and retention in this area. These include changes to the entry provisions to the GMS scheme to accommodate more flexible/shared GMS GP contracts, and to the retirement provisions for GPs under the GMS scheme, allowing GPs to hold GMS contracts...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Reform (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I have asked the HSE to respond to the deputy directly.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Access (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Addressing health inequalities is a key priority for the Sláintecare Programme.  In relation to initiatives aimed at improving the health of the population and preventing illness, the Healthy Ireland Programme received funding in Budget 2021 specifically targeted at area-based deprivation.  The implementation of this approach requires collaboration across multiple partners in...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Insurance (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The Government Decision (S180/20/10/2544) of 6thOctober 2020 approved the drafting of the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2020 to provide for revised risk equalisation credits and corresponding stamp duty levies on health insurance policies for 2021.  Government approval to publish the Bill is expected shortly, which will facilitate the Bill commencing in the Houses before end-month...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Tobacco Control Measures (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: A General Scheme for a Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill was submitted to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in October 2019 following Government approval. The General Scheme was also submitted to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health for Pre-Legislative Scrutiny at that time. A first draft of the Bill is awaited from the Office of the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Assisted Human Reproduction (17 Nov 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: As the Deputy will be aware, the Government approved the drafting of a bill on assisted human reproduction (AHR) and associated areas of research, based on the published General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill.  This comprehensive and far-reaching piece of legislation encompasses the regulation, for the first time in this country, of a wide range of practices, including:...