Results 19,681-19,700 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney
- Written Answers — Accident and Emergency Services: Accident and Emergency Services (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 141 and 244 together. A wide-ranging approach has been adopted by the Health Service Executive to improve access to accident and emergency services, improve patient flows through accident and emergency departments, reduce waiting times, free up acute beds and provide appropriate longer term care for patients outside of the acute hospital setting. A particular...
- Written Answers — Accident and Emergency Services: Accident and Emergency Services (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: My Department is advised by the Health Service Executive that the reason for the discrepancy between the INO figures and the HSE figures for the numbers of people waiting on trolleys in accident and emergency departments is that the figures are compiled at different times of the day. The INO figures are collected at 8 a.m. each day, while the HSE figures are collected at 2 p.m.
- Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: As the Deputy's question in regard to waiting lists relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which is the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004, the parliamentary affairs division of the executive has been asked to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy. The total...
- Written Answers — Hospital Procedures: Hospital Procedures (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 146 and 241 together. In an era of evidence based medicine, we must also have evidence based management. It is widely agreed that the most developed system for assessing comparative efficiency and for creating incentives within the acute hospital sector, and for encouraging good performance, is casemix. It assists hospital managers to define their workload,...
- Written Answers — Medicinal Products: Medicinal Products (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: Supply shortages of particular drugs usually arise from regulatory or manufacturing difficulties. These shortages are usually unforeseeable and of short duration. In many cases, there are already reimbursable alternative products available through the community drug schemes or, in some instances, only some dosages in the product range are unavailable. As soon as my Department becomes aware of...
- Written Answers — Medical Inquiries: Medical Inquiries (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: Following the Medical Council's investigation into the conduct of Dr. Michael Neary which found him guilty of professional misconduct in relation to ten patients, the Government decided in April 2004 to establish a non-statutory inquiry, the Lourdes Hospital inquiry, chaired by Judge Maureen Harding Clark. I met the chairperson of the inquiry on 27 January last and received her report....
- Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: Sleep apnoea is a condition that interrupts breathing while asleep. This is usually caused by an obstruction blocking the back of the throat so that the air cannot reach the patient's lungs. The cessation of breathing automatically forces the sufferer to wake up in order to start breathing again. This can happen many times during the night, making it hard for the body to get enough oxygen,...
- Written Answers — Organ Retention: Organ Retention (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 152 and 221 together. The Madden report on post mortem practice and procedure, which I published recently, contains some 50 recommendations. Some of the recommendations are exclusively the remit of my Department, for example, the formulation of human tissue legislation, others are a matter for the HSE, for example, an audit of organs retained in hospitals, and...
- Written Answers — Hospital Staff: Hospital Staff (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 153 and 177 together. The new consultant's contract will set out in detail formal employment arrangements for consultants practising exclusively in the public sector. The impact of the new contract on proposals to locate private facilities on public hospital sites will fall to be considered as part of the transition to the new contract.
- Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: All the hospitals who participate in the national casemix programme are actively encouraged to make submission on issues of concern to them to the casemix technical group in my Department, who are responsible for reviewing cost and activity data for inclusion in the budget model. Local management was invited to make a submission on the matter of its own unique local issues, which it did....
- Written Answers — Hospital Hygiene: Hospital Hygiene (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: Robust infection control measures and improved hospital hygiene have been identified as key actions required to control the spread of health care associated infections, HCAIs. To assess the extent of good hygiene practices in hospitals the first ever national hygiene audit of acute hospitals was carried out last year. The results of the first hygiene audit will form the basis for the changes...
- Written Answers — Cancer Screening Programme: Cancer Screening Programme (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 156 and 162 together. My Department has made additional revenue funding of â¬2.3 million available to BreastCheck this year to, inter alia, provide for the recruitment and training of staff to commence the national rollout of the screening programme in 2007. BreastCheck has advertised for lead consultant radiologists and radiographers for the two new clinical...
- Written Answers — Infectious Diseases: Infectious Diseases (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 158, 343 and 345 together. For the purposes of the surveillance, prevention and control of this infection the Health Protection Surveillance Centre collects data on MRSA bacteraemia, also known as bloodstream infection or blood poisoning, as part of the European antimicrobial resistance surveillance system, EARSS. The EARSS collects data on the first episode...
- Written Answers — Medical Inquiries: Medical Inquiries (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 159 and 327 together. Following the death of Mr. Patrick Walsh in Monaghan Hospital on 14 October 2005 the Health Service Executive commissioned Mr. Patrick Declan Carey, a consultant surgeon at Belfast City Hospital and an honorary senior lecturer at Queen's University, and Professor John Monson, Professor of Surgery, University of Hull, to carry out an...
- Written Answers — Medical Inquiries: Medical Inquiries (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 160 and 211 together. The Health Service Executive has established an investigation team to comprehensively review services provided by the executive to Ms Evelyn Joel over the period January 2004 to January 2006. The terms of reference for the review are: 1. To review the scope, range and level of services provided by the HSE to Ms. Evelyn Joel, during the...
- Written Answers — Hospital Staff: Hospital Staff (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: It is my intention that all members of the public should be aware of management's proposals regarding the new contract. This will help to ensure that the public understands the rationale behind these proposals and the positive outcomes that will result from their implementation. To this end the HSE has provided this information to media outlets.
- Written Answers — Drugs Payment Scheme: Drugs Payment Scheme (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: There is a common list of reimbursable medicines for the general medical services and drug payment schemes, which is reviewed and amended monthly as new products become available and deletions are notified. The product referred to by the Deputy has not been deleted from the list. An agreement is in place between the Department of Health and Children, the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare...
- Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.
- Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.
- Written Answers — Hospital Staff: Hospital Staff (31 Jan 2006)
Mary Harney: According to the most recent Health Service Executive-employers agency survey of nursing resources, recruitment remains ahead of resignations and retirements. Employers reported that 1,131 vacancies existed at 30 September 2005 â an increase of 13 compared to the previous quarter. This gives a vacancy rate of 3.24%. The vacancy figures should be seen in the context of overall employment...