Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Practice nurses are not contracted with the HSE to work under the General Practitioner (GP) Chronic Disease Management (CDM) programme.

GPs are private practitioners and as such, privately employ practice staff as they see fit and as suitable to the particular needs of their practice. Under the GMS scheme, GPs are paid a subsidy towards the cost of employing a practice nurse and/or a practice administrator. GPs participating in the CDM programme receive a practice nurse grant per CDM patient in respect of the services provided by practice nurses under the programme.

In regards to chronic disease related community services, funding provided under the Enhanced Community Care (ECC) programme facilitates, amongst other initiatives, the development of 30 Community Specialist Teams for the Management of Chronic Diseases as well as 30 Community Specialist Teams for Older Persons. To date, 54 of these teams are operational, with over 2,800 staff recruited to the ECC Programme.

I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly in relation to the number of nurses providing chronic disease services through the Community Specialist Teams.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As provided for under the 2019 GP Agreement, the General Practitioner (GP) Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Programme commenced in 2020 and has been rolled out on a phased basis to adult GMS (Medical Card and GP Visit Card) patients from 2020 to 2023.

The specified chronic conditions included in the Programme are Type 2 Diabetes; Asthma; Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Cardiovascular Disease (including Heart Failure, Ischaemic Heart Disease, Cerebrovascular Disease (Stroke/Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), Atrial Fibrillation).

Under the GP Agreement of 2023, agreement was secured to include hypertension, and women who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia since January 2023 in the CDM Preventative Programme. The latter service commenced in November 2023.

Further expansion of the programme to include additional conditions would require rigorous clinical assessment and engagement with stakeholders, including the GPs delivering the service.