Results 7,421-7,440 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 54 together. As Minister for Health I am committed to the development of regional hospitals such as Monaghan. There has been a massive increase in investment in recent years, as the budget for the hospital has increased by 46% from €8.4m in 2020 to €12.3m in 2023. Staffing has increased from 102 in 2020 to 164 in 2023, a 60% increase.The...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Facilities (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: There are several significant capital investment projects proposed for the University Hospital Galway Campus, including the Replacement Laboratories, Emergency Department (ED) Women & Children’s Block, a Regional Cancer Centre, a new Elective Hospital and a Surgical Hub. In September 2023, Saolta established a Galway University Hospital (GUH) Capital Programme Oversight Board...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Overcrowding (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: At present there are many factors affecting the services during the winter months. The recruitment pause is part of a suite of control measures, including an instruction to reduce expenditure on agency staff and management consultants across the HSE and Section 38 organisations. The reality is that the HSE have exceeded their 2023 funded workforce targets, which is neither affordable or...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Procedures (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The first phase of the independent external review of the Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgery Service is due to be completed by the end of January 2024. The Independent External Reviewer finalised the terms of reference of the review in November 2023. The Independent External Reviewer will determine the methodologies for the approach to be taken in order to achieve the objectives set out in the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Vaccination Programme (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). NIAC continue to revise its recommendations having regard to of the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practice in relation to immunisation. As the Deputy is aware, the varicella vaccine is not currently included as part of the primary...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Centres (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: As the Health Service Executive (HSE) holds responsibility for the provision, along with the maintenance and operation of Primary Care Centres, I have asked the HSE to reply to the deputy as soon as possible. The Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday 6thOctober. As a consequence of this...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Overcrowding (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Government is extremely conscious of the distress overcrowded Emergency Departments cause and the very challenging working conditions in hospitals throughout the country. This winter is the first winter we are using an all-year approach to urgent and emergency care, since the switch last year from annual winter plans recognising that the required investment, changes and supports go beyond...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Facilities (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I have asked the HSE, as Sponsoring Agency with day-to-day responsibility for the delivery of the new Elective Hospital in Galway, to respond to you directly in relation to the matters raised.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Facilities (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: As this Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently not in a position to answer PQs due to industrial action. It is hoped that normal services will resume soon. In the meantime, this Department will continue to refer PQs to HSE for their direct reply as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Reviews (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The National Review of Adult Specialist Cardiac Services, chaired by Prof Philip Nolan, commenced in 2018. A Steering Group formed from nominations of interested stakeholders representing medical, professional/technical staff, nursing, and patient representatives contributed to the Review. The aim of the Cardiac Services Review is to recommend a configuration for national adult cardiac...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Dental Services (18 Jan 2024)

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. As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday 6th October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Inspections (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: My Department engages with the HSE and HIQA on a regular and ongoing basis on a range of matters related to the provision of high-quality and safe care for people using our healthcare services in Ireland. The implementation of the recommendations of the report are a matter for the HSE. The HIQA inspection focused on key issues that impact on the delivery of care in the ED including:...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Transport Policy (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: No such engagements are underway or planned.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: It is recognised that waiting times for many scheduled appointments and procedures are too long and continue to be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to identify ways to improve access to care. The 2023 Waiting List Action Plan built on the foundational work done in previous plans,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Bodies (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The establishment of the Taskforce is a recognition that despite the unprecedented growth in service provision in the last three years, the health services face considerable pressures, both demographic and inflationary. The Taskforce will aim to realise savings and maximise productivity across the health services, including, workforce optimisation and procurement. There will also be an...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Service Executive (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: In May 2023, an instruction issued from the CEO of the HSE to temporarily pause recruitment across Managerial/Administration grades. This was part of a suite of control measures due to the HSE surpassing it's funded recruitment targets for the year. By November 2023, the recruitment pause was further extended to include most staff categories, excluding Consultant appointments and Graduate...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Homes (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: On December 19th, 2023, Minister Butler announced a new €10 million scheme to improve infection prevention and fire safety in private and voluntary nursing homes. The Nursing Home Resident Safety Improvement (RSI) Scheme will provide funding towards structural works carried out in compliance with standards published by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) under...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Assisted Human Reproduction (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: As the Deputy may be aware, a commitment to “introduce a publicly funded model of care for fertility treatment” is included in the Programme for Government. ‎The Model of Care for Fertility was developed by the Department of Health in conjunction with the HSE’s National Women & Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) to ensure that fertility-related issues are...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Strategic Review of General Practice commenced last year and is currently underway. My Department are leading the review with HSE support and input from key stakeholders. As per the terms of reference, the key areas that will be examined are GP training, GP capacity, the eHealth agenda, Out of Hours reform, and the support model for General Practice. Key stakeholders include GP...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Care Services (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Government recognises the essential role that family carers play in the provision of care in Ireland. Every day, family carers through their selfless hard work, knowledge and compassion enhance the quality of life of the most vulnerable in our society. As highlighted by the Family Carers Ireland Scorecard 2023, responsibility for improving the situation for family carers is overseen by a...