Results 39,601-39,620 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Written Answers — Department of Health: HSE Waiting Lists (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Maintaining scheduled care access for all patients is a key priority for hospitals. I fully acknowledge the distress and inconvenience for patients and their families when appointments are delayed.   In response to the Covid-19 pandemic the HSE had to take measures to pause most elective scheduled care activity with effect from the end March 2020. This was to ensure patient safety...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cancer Services (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented interruption to normal health services, both in the community and acute hospitals. While some services were suspended or delivered on a reduced basis, it is important to recognise that many vital services have continued throughout the pandemic, ensuring that priority care needs were addressed and the most vulnerable protected even at the height of...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Maternity Services (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 94, 97, 628, 687, 695, 771, 782 and 853 together. I acknowledge that the current restrictions in maternity hospitals are presenting difficulties and this is hugely regrettable. However, it is necessary to reduce footfall in order to protect women, babies, staff and our maternity service as a whole. Maternity hospitals have performed well during...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Equipment (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Children's Hospital (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Like many other sectors of the economy, the construction sector was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. This resulted in construction related work on the site of the new children’s hospital stopping on 31 March this year due to Covid-19 Restrictions. On 18thMay the restrictions in respect of the construction sector were eased. From this date, the National Paediatric Hospital...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: In recent years there has been an increased investment in paediatric orthopaedics and scoliosis services, which has improved access to surgery and outpatient appointments. In 2018 Children’s Health Ireland (CHI; previously the Children’s Hospital Group) was provided with an additional €9 million in funding to address paediatric orthopaedic waiting lists, including the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Since the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) met for the first time, a commitment was given to collect and publish as much relevant data as possible while ensuring individual patient confidentiality is maintained at all times. While the nature and scale of the Covid-19 pandemic has been unprecedented, the collection of timely and comprehensive data has been instrumental in...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Paediatric Services (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Last March as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CHI temporarily relocated paediatric services from Tallaght to its other sites at Crumlin and Temple Street and to the urgent care centre at Connolly. This freed up resources at Tallaght to support the adult service there in responding to the demands of COVID and meant that some CHI staff, on a voluntary basis, worked in the adult...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Midwifery Services (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Following reports of planned changes to midwifery led maternity service provision at Cavan General Hospital, my Department requested a full report from the National Women & Infants Health Programme.  I have been advised that the review is currently on-going within the RCSI Hospital Group and it is envisaged that the report will the finalised by the end of September.  ...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Inquiries (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 89 and 626 together. Considerable work has been done and continues to progress in Ireland in relation to the safe use of mesh implants and sodium valproate; and the patient voice is central to our understanding of these, and similar, issues. With regards to the specific details, I will first deal with mesh implants and then consider sodium valproate. ...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Assisted Human Reproduction (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: As the Deputy is aware, a commitment to introduce a model of care for infertility, details of which had been announced in December last year, is included in the Programme for Government.  This model of care will ensure that infertility issues will be addressed through the public health system at the lowest level of clinical intervention necessary.  It will comprise three stages,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Data (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The National Cancer Registry of Ireland report that between 2014 and 2016, there were 219 cases of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia diagnosed annually and estimate that between 2017 – 2019, there were 240 cases per year.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, commits to continuing investment in our health care services in line with the recommendations of the Health Service Capacity Review and the commitments in Project Ireland 2040. The Health Service Capacity Review 2018 found that the net requirement in combination with health system reform is for an additional 2,590 hospital beds by 2031...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Vaccination Programme (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: In previous years, the seasonal influenza vaccination was made available without charge to Medical or GP Visit card holders in one of the HSE-defined at-risk groups, while others in the at-risk groups were provided the vaccine without charge and typically paid an administration fee to have the vaccine delivered. Research indicates that the requirement to pay a charge results in lower uptake...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Tests (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: A comprehensive, reliable and responsive testing and tracing operation is central to our public health strategy for containing and slowing the spread of COVID-19 and the HSE has worked intensively over the last number of months to put this in place. Ireland is pursuing a robust testing strategy under the guidance of NPHET. NPHET will continue to consider and review, based on public...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Facilities (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: Phase 1 of the redevelopment of National Rehabilitation Hospital was recently completed, commissioned and became operational in June of this year. Phase 1 included the provision of 120 new single bed en-suite rooms, in eight wards on four separate levels. Therapy spaces are provided in the individual wards. Included also are the new Sports Hall and Hydrotherapy facilities and a new entrance...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: There has been significant engagement between Irish and Northern Ireland health authorities throughout this pandemic. There has been, and will continue to be, engagement at official level at least weekly to discuss issues of common interest, and in particular policies on international travel and public health advice. These interactions, as appropriate, involve the Ministers for Health,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Screening Programmes (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026 does not recommend the introduction of a population based screening programme for prostate cancer as there was insufficient evidence in favour of such a programme. This position is consistent with the Recommendations adopted by the European Union which advocate the introduction of cancer screening programmes which have demonstrated their efficacy having...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Commencement of Legislation (15 Sep 2020)

Stephen Donnelly: The Health (General Practitioner Service and Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2020, enacted on 2nd August 2020, provided for an increase to the gross medical card income limits for those aged 70 and over to €550 per week for a single person and to €1,050 per week for a couple. Although it had been originally intended that this measure would be implemented from...