Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)
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951. To ask the Minister for Health if he will ensure that arrangements are made to assist an elderly wheelchair bound person (details supplied) in County Wicklow with assistance towards taxi transport to and from hospital for essential treatment; if direct contact can be made with the person's next of kin in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26949/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Patient transport is the responsibility of the HSE. However, people attending outpatient and hospital appointments are, in general, expected to make their own travel arrangements, using private or scheduled public transport. The exceptions are for dialysis, cancer (radiotherapy and chemotherapy) and post-operative transplant patients, where transport may be provided. In these cases, the patient's appointment should be directly related to the treatment.

Transport may also be provided where, in the clinician's view, the patient would be unable to make the journey without clinical assistance or where the patient must be transported on a stretcher.

Following implementation of the HSE's non-ambulance patient transport policy, responsibility for the arrangement and provision of non-ambulance transport has moved from the HSE National Ambulance Service to local health offices in each region. Patients or their clinicians should contact their local health office directly in relation to transport requests.

Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department of Social Protection administers a scheme which may help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. These payments are known as Exceptional Needs Payments (ENPs). Enquiries relating to this scheme should be addressed to the Department of Social Protection.