Ken O'Flynn

2118. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued any written policy guidance, circular, direction or framework to the Health Service Executive or to the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics regarding the appropriate time horizon to be applied in health technology assessments used to inform pricing and reimbursement decisions for medicines; if such guidance exists, to provide the date and details of that guidance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20310/26]

2119. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether national policy guidance exists governing the methodological standards to be applied in health technology assessments used to support decisions under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, including assumptions relating to modelling time horizons, discount rates and long-term cost-effectiveness analysis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20311/26]

2120. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued guidance to ensure that health technology assessments of medicines intended to prevent or reduce the long-term incidence of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, appropriately account for long-term health outcomes and downstream health system savings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20312/26]

2121. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what oversight role her Department exercises in relation to the methodological frameworks used by the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics when conducting health technology assessments that inform reimbursement decisions by the Health Service Executive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20313/26]

2122. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has reviewed whether the health technology assessment methodology applied in Ireland is aligned with that used by comparable agencies internationally, including NICE in the United Kingdom, CADTH in Canada, or PBAC in Australia, particularly regarding the time horizons applied in cost-effectiveness modelling for preventive medicines; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20314/26]

2123. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has undertaken any review of whether the methodological assumptions applied in health technology assessments used in Ireland may disadvantage medicines intended to prevent long-term chronic illness by applying short-term modelling horizons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20315/26]

2124. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department intends to establish a national policy framework or guidance governing the methodological standards used in health technology assessments for medicines seeking reimbursement by the Health Service Executive, including standards relating to modelling time horizons for chronic disease prevention therapies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20316/26]

2127. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued any written policy guidance or governance framework defining what constitutes an unacceptable response time for life-threatening emergency ambulance calls, including clinical status 1 purple or red calls; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20321/26]

2128. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has formally approved or endorsed the current key performance indicator framework used by the National Ambulance Service in relation to emergency response times; the date on which that framework was last reviewed by her Department; and whether consideration has been given to introducing a maximum response time threshold for life-threatening emergencies. [20322/26]

2129. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the absence of a defined maximum response time threshold for life-threatening emergency ambulance calls has been assessed by her Department as a governance or patient safety risk; and whether any such assessment has been recorded within the Department’s risk management framework. [20323/26]

2130. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has required the Health Service Executive to provide any analysis of emergency ambulance response times exceeding 60 minutes for clinical status 1 purple or red calls; whether such analysis has been reviewed at Departmental level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20324/26]

2131. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has considered whether delays exceeding 60 minutes in response to life-threatening emergency calls should automatically trigger review under the HSE Incident Management Framework; and if so, the outcome of that consideration. [20325/26]

2132. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department of Health receives any routine reporting from the Health Service Executive regarding extreme outlier emergency ambulance response times, including delays exceeding 60 minutes for life-threatening emergencies; the format in which such information is reported; and whether this information forms part of Departmental oversight of patient safety governance. [20326/26]

2133. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department of Health Enterprise Risk Management Framework currently identifies prolonged emergency ambulance response times as a strategic or operational risk; and if so, the risk rating assigned and the mitigation measures identified. [20327/26]

2134. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has undertaken or commissioned any review since 2020 examining the relationship between prolonged ambulance response times and patient outcomes in Ireland; and if so, the title and date of any such review. [20328/26]

2135. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has considered the introduction of national reporting requirements for extreme ambulance response delays for life-threatening emergencies in order to strengthen transparency and patient safety oversight. [20329/26]

2136. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the governance arrangements between her Department and the Health Service Executive require the HSE to notify the Department where systemic patterns of prolonged ambulance response delays emerge; and if so, the mechanism through which such notification occurs. [20330/26]

2138. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has approved, endorsed or accepted a policy position that emergency ambulance response delays exceeding 60 minutes in life-threatening clinical status 1 purple or red calls do not automatically constitute patient safety incidents requiring review under the HSE Incident Management Framework; and if such a policy position exists, to provide the date on which it was adopted and the governance basis for that decision. [20332/26]

2142. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the Health Service Executive has commissioned, received, or reviewed any internal audit, external audit, or independent validation report concerning the accuracy and reliability of patient experience time data used to record emergency department waiting times; the date of the most recent such review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20358/26]

2143. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Health Service Executive has quantified the error rate, margin of error, or data reliability level associated with patient experience time data used to measure emergency department waiting times; whether any formal statistical assessment of data accuracy has been undertaken; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20359/26]

2144. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the governance framework currently in place governing the collection, validation, correction, and publication of patient experience time data used to measure emergency department waiting times at national and hospital level; and whether formal national standards exist governing data accuracy and reporting in this regard. [20360/26]

2145. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national policy, guidance document, or standard operating procedure exists governing the way hospitals record, amend, or retrospectively enter timestamps used to calculate patient experience time in emergency departments; and whether such procedures are subject to oversight or compliance review by the Department or the Health Service Executive. [20361/26]

2146. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department or the Health Service Executive publishes, or intends to publish, any data quality assurance reports, validation summaries, or audit findings relating to the accuracy of emergency department waiting time statistics; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20362/26]

2147. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether a national standard definition is applied across the Health Service Executive for reporting counselling activity within the counselling in primary care service and the childhood abuse or neglect counselling service; specifically whether reporting distinguishes between new clients, returning clients and the number of sessions delivered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20370/26]

2148. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department or the Health Service Executive has issued national policy guidance governing how counselling activity statistics are compiled and reported by Health Regions, including definitions used for client numbers and activity totals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20371/26]