Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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32. To ask the Minister for Health the reason detailed 20 week routine scans for pregnant women are not provided routinely and offered to all patients; his plans to extend this facility from the current six maternity units to the 19 maternity units; the status of the development of the clinical guidelines for the provision of 20 week scans; when this will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20212/17]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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61. To ask the Minister for Health if he will ring-fence funding specifically for the necessary investment requirement in terms of equipment and personnel for providing 20 week routine scans for pregnant women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20215/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 32 and 61 together.

I am advised that foetal anomaly scans are available in all Hospital Groups. Those hospitals/maternity units currently providing anomaly scans accept referrals from other maternity units, if requested. This occurs where the medical team in the referring maternity unit consider that an anomaly scan is clinically indicated.

The National Maternity Strategy is very clear that all women must have equal access to standardised ultrasound services and, consequently, the issue of anomaly scanning is a priority issue for the newly established HSE National Women and Infants Health Programme. An early priority for the Programme will be to develop clinical guidance regarding routine detailed scans at 20 weeks. In the meantime, the Programme will continue to work with the six Hospital Groups to assist in increasing access to anomaly scans for those units with limited availability.

One of the current challenges to increase access to anomaly scans is the recruitment of ultrasonographers. In this context it is expected that the establishment of maternity networks across hospital groups will assist in developing a sustainable model that ensures that all women within each hospital group can access anomaly scans. The Programme has advised that there is some resource available to support this initiative in 2017, and a submission will be made to the estimates process for 2018 for the additional funding.