Results 17,601-17,620 of 45,789 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services Staff Recruitment (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for this important question. To clarify, I would not describe what is happening as a recruitment embargo in the health service, nor did the new director general of the HSE do so in his first memorandum to his HSE leadership team, which I read about this morning. The issue can be accurately described as individual hospital groups and community health organisations across...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services Staff Recruitment (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I agree with the Deputy on the need to tackle agency staff. That is why in the new deal we have with nurses and the new nurses contract both I and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, believe that the new measures will help reduce a dependency on agency staff and help to recruit and retain more nurses in full-time, permanent posts. That is the view of the union that has just...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services Staff Recruitment (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I was at its conference.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services Staff Recruitment (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: One cannot describe a situation where we will hire 2,000 additional staff this year as a recruitment embargo. An embargo suggests that we are not hiring any more people. In other words, that we are stopping recruitment. We are not doing that; we are going to hire 2,000 more people. However, what we are expecting hospital groups and CHOs to do is something that every other public service...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Consultant Recruitment (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: The number of consultants working in the public health service continues to grow year-on-year. It increased by 119 whole-time equivalents, WTEs, or 4% in the year to the end of March 2019. In the five years to the end of March 2019, the number of consultants increased by 529, more than 20%, and now stands at 3,110 WTEs. It is important in any discussion of this issue to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Consultant Recruitment (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I outlined my position very clearly in that regard at the IMO conference in Killarney a couple of weekends ago and I am happy to outline it again here. Addressing consultants and their concerns is the next major issue we need to resolve. I say that from the position that we have just reached an agreement with general practitioners, which is still being considered by the Irish Medical...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Occupational Therapy Waiting Lists (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I acknowledge that the current time to access Occupational Therapy services can be too long in certain locations and that this may cause anxiety for parents and patients who are currently waiting to access services. That is why the HSE will be prioritising investment in Occupational Therapy in 2019 to reduce waiting times and improve access to services. Across the country, 40 additional...

Written Answers — Department of Health: HSE Planning (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: As the Deputy is aware, in May 2017, I gave approval to Saolta University Health Care Group to conduct an options appraisal for future acute hospital needs in Galway. As part of this, Saolta is undertaking a planning project to assess the population health needs for the Hospital’s catchment area in order to inform existing and future service needs. The assessment will provide an...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Overcrowding (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: The Winter Plan 2018/19, recognising the multiple factors across the health service that impact on Emergency Department performance, included a range of measures to support patients accessing services in the community and in hospitals. Planning for Winter 2019/20 has already commenced, with a review of performance over the Winter Period currently underway to ensure that the lessons learned...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Nursing Staff Provision (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: The HSE Model of Care for Neurology provides a framework for neurology services, including for Parkinson's Disease patients, using international best practice and describes care provision using an integrated service approach. The model is fully aligned with the objectives of Sláintecare and proposes a hub and spoke model, with services provided as close to home as possible but with...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Emergency Departments (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: Our Lady’s Hospital Navan is part of the Ireland East Hospital Group. In 2013 Our Lady’s Hospital Navan was included in the list of designated Model 2 Hospitals under the Smaller Hospitals Framework. Every hospital in the Group, large and small, has a vital role to play within the Group, with smaller hospitals, such as Navan Hospital, managing routine, urgent or planned care...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Overcrowding (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: The Winter Plan 2018/19, recognising the multiple factors across the health service that impact on Emergency Department performance, included a range of measures to support patients accessing services in the community and in hospitals. Planning for Winter 2019/20 has already commenced, with a review of performance over the Winter Period currently underway to ensure that the lessons learned...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Physiotherapy Provision (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I acknowledge that challenges exist in the delivery of physiotherapy services in Connemara. However, I am assured by the HSE that efforts are being undertaken to minimise the impact on patients. I understand that the physiotherapist post assigned to the South Connemara Primary Care Team has recently become vacant after being filled on a continuous but temporary basis since August 2018. The...

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Children's Hospital (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: It is not my intention to publish the contract relating to the new children's hospital construction. However, I contacted the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board on the matter and have been provided with a redacted contract which I will make available to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists Data (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: Construction on the new Radiation Oncology Unit at University Hospital Galway (UHG) is expected to be completed in April 2021. It will open to patients following the completion of clinical commissioning in March 2022. UHG have made the Department aware of seven oncology-related vacancies in the Hospital, including five at staff nursing level and two within management and administration. I...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists Action Plans (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I am committed to tackling the key challenges our health service faces in relation to long waiting times and hospital overcrowding. Improving timely access for patients to scheduled and unscheduled care is at the heart of Sláintecare. Building upon the process made in recent years in this area, the Sláintecare Action Plan 2019 published by my Department, includes a specific...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Screening Programmes (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: All newborn babies (between 3 and 5 days old) are offered newborn bloodspot screening (generally known as the ‘heel prick’) through their parents/guardians for eight very rare conditions that are treatable if detected early in life. These include: - cystic fibrosis - congenital hypothyroidism - phenylketonuria - classical galactosaemia - MCADD (medium-chain acyl-CoA...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Overcrowding (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I wish to acknowledge the distress overcrowded Emergency Departments cause to patients, their families and frontline staff working in very challenging working conditions in hospitals throughout the country. The hospital system is currently operating at close to full capacity. The Emergency Department in University Hospital Limerick is one of the busiest in the country, with the number of...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products Reimbursement (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 42 and 146 together. As the Deputies are aware, the Oireachtas put in place a strong legal framework, in the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, to give full statutory powers to the HSE to assess and make decisions on reimbursement of medicines, taking account of a range of objective factors and expert opinion as appropriate. I...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Ambulance Service Provision (15 May 2019)

Simon Harris: The National Ambulance Service is committed to providing a safe, high quality and timely, patient centred ambulance service to people across the country, including in County Wicklow. Overall resource availability across the North Leinster Area, which includes County Wicklow, has increased following the move towards dynamic deployment. Resources are now utilised across a region, so that...