Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health the reason the new Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at Cork University Hospital and the redeveloped unit at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, remain unopened today, despite the completion of the units in the autumn of 2012 at an estimated spend of €900,000; if he will immediately address this situation in the interest of epilepsy patients here; if he will provide a timeframe for the opening of these facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6438/13]

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will instruct the Health Service Executive to sanction staff appointments immediately in order that both EMU units in Cork and Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, can be fully opened to ensure that the safety and welfare of people with epilepsy will be protected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6445/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 198 together.

Cork and Beaumont are two of six regional centres which have been identified by the HSE's Clinical Care Programme for Epilepsy for the provision of specialist epilepsy services. Developments so far under the Programme include the opening of Rapid Access Clinics at four of these centre, including Beaumont, St James’s, Galway and Limerick. The Rapid Access clinics are led by Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs). Under the Programme, 10.5 (WTE) Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) have been recruited to lead these clinics so that a total of 12 ANPs are now in place across the four centres, delivering services on site and on an outreach basis.

The two Epilepsy Monitoring Units (EMUs) planned for Cork and Beaumont under the Programme will increase pre-surgical evaluation capacity. Monitoring is required for those patients with the worst effects of epilepsy, and patients at these units will require 24/7 care.

The staffing requirements to enable the units to be safely opened have been identified. In regard to the planned EMU at Beaumont, I am advised that Beaumont Hospital and the HSE are working jointly to fill the posts necessary to support the service development. The recruitment of the necessary nursing personnel is a key element to facilitate phased opening of the unit, commencing Quarter 1, as nursing staff come into post. With regard to Cork, the HSE has advised that the Service Plan for 2013 for CUH is being drawn up currently and will be finalised in the coming weeks, and that the provision of additional staff for the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit is being considered as part of that process.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide information on the Stroke Unit at South Tipperary General Hospital, Clonmel, including the date in which it opened, previous, present and future expected workload, the geographical area it provides services for, the staffing levels at this unit, the staff, numbers and WTE, that are specifically dedicated to this unit, the funding allocation to this unit for the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013, the specialist equipment available to the unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6440/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The national guidelines on stroke care as outlined in Changing Cardiovascular Health: National Cardiovascular Health Policy 2010 –2019 (published in 2010) recommend that all hospitals providing care for acute stroke patients must make available immediate access to an acute stroke unit. An acute stroke unit consists of a discrete area of a hospital that exclusively or principally takes care of stroke patients and is adequately staffed by a specialist multidisciplinary team. An acute stroke unit provides high-dependency care including physiological, neurological monitoring and rapid treatment of stroke and associated complications, early rehabilitation and palliative care. Nursing staff in a dedicated stroke unit develop the crucial expertise on appropriate stroke patients assessment, treatment, monitoring & management. Stroke unit care is underpinned by a comprehensive specialist multidisciplinary team including speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, clinical nutrition, social work and clinical psychology. The HSE has established a number of clinical care programmes to improve and standardise patient care throughout the organisation by bringing together clinical disciplines and enabling them to share innovative solutions to deliver greater benefits to every user of HSE services. One of these programmes has been established in the area of stroke care. The National Stroke Programme plan provides for the development of Stroke Units in all acute hospitals currently without units, who admit patients with stroke via the ED, with prioritisation of hospitals with high numbers of stroke admissions annually. It is estimated that the development of 9 additional Stroke Units will result in 90% of all acute Irish hospitals operating a stroke Unit and 90% of all Irish patients with a stroke admitted to a hospital with a functional unit. e plan will also result in greater numbers of patients receiving stroke care, reduced lengths of stay in our hospitals and reduced strike admissions to nursing homes.

Medical specialties in South Tipperary General Hospital include cardiology, diabetes/endocrinology, gastroenterology, general and geriatric medicine, stroke management, rheumatology.

The specific details asked by the Deputy in the question are operational matters for the HSE. Accordingly, I have asked the HSE to reply directly to the Deputy.