Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Mullen for raising this topic. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, but I am also acutely interested in the nature of the question the Senator raised.

On foot of the challenges experienced due to the recent cyberattack, which required a temporary shut-down of the HSE IT system, the HSE is currently unable to access some of the information such as the relevant data from its patients’ private property accounts system, which my Department mighty usually obtain from the HSE for inclusion in a Commencement matter debate response to provide context. The disruption of the service is ongoing. The HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services.

However, I am pleased to acknowledge the legal basis for patients' private property accounts is set out in the Health (Repayments Scheme) Act 2006. The scope of these provisions relate to the HSE’s duties and responsibilities to offer appropriate safeguards regarding the finances and private property of patients in the care of the HSE and of the service providers which act on behalf of the HSE. This system provides approximately 6,000 patients and residents with an option to avail of what is, essentially, a free banking service operated by the HSE on the basis of strong published guidelines which safeguard patients’ money and private property while in our care. The Senator asked how many accounts there are and he will note there are 6,000.

The question of whether the same or similar provisions could be put in place for patients in private healthcare facilities and, if so, how that might be resourced and the appropriate role, if any, of the public healthcare system, has not to date been reviewed in any detail. However, as the Senator may be aware, my Department is currently at a fairly advanced stage in the development of the national policy on adult safeguarding in the health sector. I have asked the relevant team of officials leading that work to consider whether there may be merit in exploring the expansion of the existing patients' public property legislation or the introduction of any new provisions to offer similar safeguards to private patients and residents who might wish to avail of such a service.

It is also important to bring to the Senator’s attention the decision support service. I secured funding in last year's budget for that service. Hopefully, the decision support service will be in operation by June of next year. Advocates or the persons concerned would have different levels of needing support to be able to make decisions and they would be supported in making those decisions. That service will be open to all, whether in a public or private capacity. Hopefully, that will also provide support to people in private facilities.