Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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726. To ask the Minister for Health when stakeholders will receive a letter confirming funding for the Sláintecare: Towards Self-Care in Headache project so that the participating hospitals can retain and recruit vital staff, as per his Department’s announced roll-out (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27766/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Sláintecare Integration Fund project Towards Selfcare in Headache is delivered by theHSE Clinical Strategy & Programme Division.This project involves shifting the balance of care from the acute hospital setting and into the community by offering holistic, patient-centred care, at the lowest level of complexity. The purpose is to reduce the reliance on secondary/tertiary care, harness existing resources within the community network, and to promote a programme of self-care and self-management for those with chronic disorders. The target group for the project are patients with headache disorders.

The project has established new protocols for management of headache, that provide for trained nurse prescribers who work alongside neurologists with expertise in headache, and in collaboration with GPs, the Migraine Association of Ireland and local pharmacies.85 pharmacists are participating in the programme and over 360 patients have been referred to community pharmacy.

Significant improvements in new/return ratio in the headache clinic in St James Hospital were observed. Following a successful evaluation, ongoing funding is being provided for this project in the participating hospitals. A letter confirming same issued on Friday 27 May 2022.