Results 12,881-12,900 of 45,510 for speaker:Simon Harris

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: Alcohol cannot be advertised on children's clothing. Alcohol advertising in cinemas is severely restricted. Alcohol cannot be advertised near schools, crèches or playgrounds. It is good that some of the measures have come in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I want to bring in minimum unit pricing. I will explain why I do not buy into the baloney which suggests that we cannot bring it in until Northern Ireland does so. Scotland did it without waiting for England. It is about to be done in Wales, but the authorities in England are not about to do it. I remind the Deputy that we are talking about a certain type of alcohol. We are not talking...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I would like to move on this very early in the new year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I am happy to work through the break. I have to leave at 1 p.m. When we come back, we should have enough time for members to ask any remaining questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I am happy to take a break.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I may have to ask the NTPF to compile it but we will write to the committee with that information.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: It was not from me, or if the Chairman has sought it from me, I apologise.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: We will certainly ask for that. It should be easy to provide the information because the benefit of the NTPF is that one can track the patient through his or her entire journey. It is not money that goes into an overall budget but is individually allocated to a patient. I assure the Chairman that there is a direct correlation between the significant increase in funding for reducing waiting...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I will also send the committee information on "do not attends". I do not have a specific figure but we see an average of 450,000 to 500,000 people missing hospital appointments each year. There has to be something behind that and we are digging for information about that. It is much higher in some areas than others. Some areas send out text reminders and some do not. The entire number of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I thank the Chairman. I will ask my colleagues to come in on some of the questions because they are more appropriate to them, particularly the point the Chairman made on panels. On GP vacancies, I agree with the Chairman. We need to listen to him on that in terms of his professional experience but also his knowledge in terms of what is happening on the ground in rural parts of Ireland. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: On some of the other issues, the opening hours of the MRI scanner are a matter for local hospital management but as the Chairman referenced, there is a point about looking at the two scanners in the totality. On the issue of the elective hospitals, the realistic timeframe is about four years. We can look at how we can tighten that - perhaps through standard designs and the like for the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: We will write to the committee.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: That is a matter for the HSE.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It does indeed sound illogical because, obviously, we want to provide all the care to the woman there. Mr. Reid and I will have a look at that, see if that can be fixed and revert to the Deputy and the committee.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for her comments. After my meeting last night, I am just so conscious of how grateful families impacted by addiction are that she and others raise these issues and that we talk about them here. They feel they are never talked about. We do not talk about addiction enough in Ireland but we talk even less about the impact of addiction on the family. The Deputy is right...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I think the pertinent question is why the central HSE was not asked to open these beds earlier.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: The HSE and Department of Health became aware of these beds not being open when we put out a call to the system asking if there were any more beds around the country that could be opened. It is inexcusable that 15 beds in St. John's hospital were not open during a crisis in bed capacity in the UHL hospital group. I also find it inexcusable that doctors from the acute hospital are not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: We will send it to the committee providing there is no issue with publication. We will just check first.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Bríd Smith for raising these questions. I had intended to say this to the 221+ group in writing first but, in the interests of clarity, the €2,000 payment recommended in the Scally report will be provided to the people who participated.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Meeting on Health Issues (11 Dec 2019)

Simon Harris: I did not say "No" initially. Just because a headline said that I did, it does not mean that is the case. I received a letter from patient advocates last week and I said that I would come back to them on the issue.