Results 1-20 of 11,322 for at speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Written Answers — Department of Health: Healthcare Policy (16 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 was developed to address the health harms arising from alcohol consumption and to date 28 of the 31 provisions have been commenced. One of the core objectives of the Act is to delay the initiation of alcohol consumption by children and young people. The Act introduces a suite of measures specifically designed to protect children from the harms of...

Delivering Universal Healthcare: Statements (15 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: ...society. I am pleased to report to the Dáil today on the progress being made in making this a reality. If you need a doctor, nurse or therapist; if you need a simple procedure or a complex operation; if you need home care or a nursing home, it cannot matter how much money you have, where you live or what age you are. Thanks to four strong years of investment from this...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Health Services Waiting Lists (15 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The HSE advises that a pilot project commenced in 2016 by the HSE Acute Hospitals Division to progress the collection of national radiology waiting list data. The project has been supported by the Radiology Clinical Care Programme and has involved key stakeholders across the system including the National Integrated Medical Imaging System (NIMIS) Team, Hospital Groups, and the support of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Hospital Waiting Lists (15 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: It is acknowledged that many patients are still waiting too long for hospital appointments and treatments. As part of the multi-annual approach to reducing waiting lists, and just as importantly the length of time that patients are waiting, I published the 2024 Waiting List Action Plan on 27th March. Total funding of €360 million has been provided for the plan this year which sets...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Cancer Services (15 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I am fully committed to supporting our population screening programmes, which are a valuable part of our health service. They enable early treatment and care for many people and improve the overall health of our population. BreastCheck, the National Breast Screening Programme, currently invites women aged 50 to 69 years at regular periods to have a routine mammogram. Under commitments in...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Medical Cards (15 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: ...Card provision is primarily based on financial assessment. In accordance with the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for a medical card is determined by the HSE, which assesses each application on a qualifying financial threshold. The issue of granting medical or GP visit cards based on having a particular disease or illness was previously examined in 2014 by the HSE Expert Panel...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Healthcare Policy (15 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Huntington’s Disease is a rare, complex, hereditary neurological condition. There are an estimated 1,000 people suffering from the disease in Ireland. Supports for people with Huntington’s Disease are provided across acute hospital, primary care and community service settings. The Health Service Executive (HSE) funds a range of community services to people with a disability,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Health Services (15 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I understand the Deputy may be seeking information on schemes which facilitate patients accessing medical treatment abroad. The HSE currently operates three schemes that facilitate patients accessing treatment abroad. The HSE operates the EU Treatment Abroad Scheme (TAS), for persons entitled under EU Regulation 883/04. The TAS is a consultant led scheme and allows for an Ireland-based...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (14 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: GPs are private practitioners, most of whom hold a GMS contract with the HSE for the provision of GP services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. Where a person who holds a medical card or GP visit card, experiences difficulty in finding a GP to accept them as a patient, that person having unsuccessfully applied to at least three GPs in the area (or fewer if there...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Aids and Appliances (14 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: ...range of aids and appliances to individuals living with a wide variety of different medical conditions. These support individuals to continue living within their communities and to enjoy a greater quality of life than would otherwise be the case. The Community Funded Schemes (CFS) is the collective name for the provision of these products and services. The CFS Service Improvement...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (14 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Currently, all newborn babies (between 3 and 5 days old) are offered newborn bloodspot screening (generally known as the ‘heel prick’) for rare but serious conditions that are treatable if detected early in life. The expansion of the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening (NBS) Programme continues to remain a key objective of mine as Minister for Health, and I am pleased to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Children's Hospital (14 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The decision to site the main children’s hospital was made by Government in 2012. The decision to locate the hospital on St James’s Hospital campus was clinically-led and made in the best interests of children. Dáil Éireann endorsed this decision in November 2012 on foot of a Government motion. Practising clinicians had expressed their full support for the St...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Service Executive (14 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The State Claims Agency (SCA) has a statutory remit to manage personal injury claims on behalf of Delegated State Authorities including the Health Service Executive. I have been informed by the SCA that the information contained within the table below has been extracted from the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and relates to claims against healthcare locations, i.e. acute and...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cannabis for Medicinal Use (14 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Health Research Board (HRB), at the request of my department, was requested to carry out an exercise of initial evidence gathering and a subsequent evidence synthesis, the results of which were published in January this year. This publication is subject to a clinical review in order ascertain whether there is sufficient evidence available to broaden the scope of the conditions which could...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Legislative Programme (14 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 provides a legislative framework for a number of important patient safety issues, including the mandatory open disclosure of a list of specified serious patient safety incidents that must be disclosed to the patient and/or their family, and the expansion of HIQA’s remit into private hospital services. The Act was...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (14 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The neonatology service in CHI looks after newborns with surgical or complex medical needs. Young babies are transferred to CHI from neonatal units throughout the country and on admission through the Emergency Department. The service includes special care, high-dependency care, and intensive care. High-dependency care is for babies who have additional needs compared to those in special care....

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Service Executive (9 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Funding has been made available for an additional 2,969 staff for 2024. This represents 2,268 via the Department of Health and 701 via the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and is outlined in the HSE National Service Plan approved and published on 14 February 2024. I have approved the New Developments allocation of the resources relevant to the health...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (9 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: GPs are self-employed practitioners and therefore may establish practices at a place of their own choosing. There is no prescribed ratio of GPs to patients and the State does not regulate the number of GPs that can set up in a town or community. The Government is working to increase the number of GPs practicing in the State and thereby improve access to GP services across the country. ...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (9 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: GPs are self-employed practitioners and therefore may establish practices at a place of their own choosing. The State does not regulate the number of GPs that can set up in a town or community. Under the GMS scheme, the HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. Where a vacancy arises in a practice with a GMS contract, the HSE...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Qualifications Recognition (8 May 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Deputy may wish to note that only professional qualifications awarded within the State can be accredited by CORU for access to CORU regulated professions. Professional qualifications awarded outside the State are assessed through a process of ‘recognition’ which involves comparison of the qualification with the standard of proficiency required of accredited Irish...