Results 8,801-8,820 of 26,394 for speaker:David Cullinane

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (10 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: 151. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to reverse underinvestment in public health departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42340/20]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (10 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: 167. To ask the Minister for Health his plans for advancing an inquiry into the use of mesh implants and sodium valproate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42339/20]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Healthcare Policy (10 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: 178. To ask the Minister for Health the steps taken to establish a State-funded contraception scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42341/20]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Healthcare Policy (10 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: 429. To ask the Minister for Health the reason the target percentage of patients undergoing a non-urgent colonoscopy within 13 weeks was changed from 70% to 65% in the 2020 HSE Services Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42724/20]

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (Resumed) and Subsequent Stages (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: I thank the Minister of State for his contribution to what has become an annual debate on private health insurance. I will support the Bill. Having said that, we should take the opportunity every year when we debate such a Bill to review where we are with Sláintecare and with the commitments that all parties in the House gave to phasing out private health insurance and the private...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: I have one quick point relating to next week's meeting regarding vaccines. I know we will have the chairperson of the expert panel in, and that is important. However, I believe we also need to hear from the national immunisation advisory committee, NIAC, because that committee is responsible for the provisional vaccination allocation groups that were published. I wish to put that committee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: I imagine the head of the NIAC is the relevant person.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: I will start with Dr. Russell. I am pleased that she drew a distinction between screening and diagnosis. It is important to repeat that they are not one and the same. Do the witnesses know the up-to-date number of people screened this year compared with last year? We all accept the reasons for Covid interrupting screening services this year, but do they have the up-to-date figures for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: How does that compare with last year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: Dr. Russell is saying that CervicalCheck hopes to achieve a 50% screening rate this year compared with last year. For those who would ordinarily have been screened this year but were not, what is the estimated time to catch up on what could be described as missed screening?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: I know, but I have limited time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: That is what I wanted to establish. We are essentially starting from scratch again and will try to screen as many people as we can as quickly as possible. I hope that next year will see a return to the numbers of previous years. Before I move to Professor Ó Laoide, I will ask Ms Morrogh about her opening statement. Screening is important, but rapid access to assessments, testing,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: Is it down to a lack of equipment and a lack of specialists?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: Ms Morrogh stated that 100,000 people were awaiting radiology appointments. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: I tabled a parliamentary question on consultant radiologists. The official HSE response was that of the 314 posts in total, 27 were vacant, or 8.5%. The Irish Hospital Consultants Association says the figure is 60 posts when some of the positions filled by locum or agency staff are included. If he has the figure, will Professor Ó Laoide confirm the number of vacant consultant...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: We have very little time available to us and I have many questions to ask, so I will get through as many as I can. There are many vacant radiologist posts and 100,000 people waiting for radiology assessments. I tabled a parliamentary question on the number of consultant oncologists. According to the national cancer control programme, NCCP, there are 41 approved consultant medical...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: I am sorry, but this session was an opportunity for us. I specifically told the clerk to the committee that I wanted to raise the issues of capacity, oncology, radiography, staffing, including consultants, and so on. We should have the figures. If Professor Ó Laoide does not have them with him, will he ensure that they are sent to us?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: How many?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: I wish to ask about surgeries now. A response to a parliamentary question indicates that the number of oncology surgeries performed over a number of months this year was less than half of the number performed in 2019. We can only assume that was caused by Covid-19 and we can all accept that there was an obvious interruption to all services but in terms of cancer surgeries, the numbers are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Cancer Screening and Care Services: Discussion (9 Dec 2020)

David Cullinane: That is an awful lot of procedures that were not carried out that maybe would have been carried out-----