Parliamentary questions

818. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of referrals made specifically by general practitioners to SCAN services in 2025; and if this cannot be disaggregated, the reason such referral pathways are not recorded. [28147/26]

819. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the current SCAN database captures the source of referral, including GP, CAMHS, CMHT or emergency department; and if not, whether this will be introduced. [28148/26]

820. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the geographic distribution of SCAN services, by county and CHO area; and the timeline for full national coverage. [28149/26]

821. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of dedicated under-18 SCAN services currently in operation; and whether additional youth-specific services are planned. [28150/26]

822. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the key performance indicators used to measure SCAN service effectiveness; and when these will be published. [28151/26]

823. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any independent evaluation or audit of the SCAN service has been conducted since its integration into the National Clinical Programme; and if not, whether one will be commissioned. [28152/26]

824. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total number of referrals made by general practitioners to suicide crisis assessment nurse services, including those not accepted for assessment, in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026. [28157/26]

825. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of referrals to suicide crisis assessment nurse services that were not accepted for assessment and the reasons for non-acceptance, in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026. [28158/26]

826. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether a national data system is in place to track referral pathways to suicide crisis assessment nurse services, including whether referrals originate from general practitioners, CAMHS, or Community Mental Health Teams, and if not, the timeline for its implementation. [28159/26]

827. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the key performance indicators currently used to evaluate the suicide crisis assessment nurse service; and when the full national report referenced will be published. [28160/26]

828. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated unmet demand for suicide crisis assessment nurse services, including the number of patients diverted to emergency departments or community mental health teams due to lack of SCAN capacity. [28161/26]

829. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service records the number of emergency calls where response times exceed 30, 45, 60 and 90 minutes; and if so, the annual totals for each category in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026. [28162/26]

830. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether delays exceeding 60 minutes in response to life-threatening emergency calls are ever retrospectively reviewed where no patient safety incident has been formally recorded; and if so, the criteria applied. [28163/26]

831. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has conducted any internal analysis of the relationship between extended ambulance response times and patient outcomes, including morbidity or mortality; and if so, to provide details. [28164/26]

832. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the absence of time-based review thresholds in the National Ambulance Service has been subject to audit, risk assessment, or governance review since 2020. [28166/26]

833. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health the number of WTE consultant paediatric ENT surgeons based at Cork University Hospital as of 17 February 2026, in tabular form. [28173/26]

834. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health the locations within CHO5 where HSE funds day care centre for older persons; the days of the week each of those day care centres opens; the capacity of each of those centres; and the referral process required for new older persons to join one of those centres providing capacity is available, in tabular form. [28174/26]

835. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health the locations within CHO5 where HSE-employed audiologists are based within primary care services as of 17 February 2026; and if she will provide same figures as of 31 December 2023, in tabular form. [28175/26]

836. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total annual expenditure incurred by the HSE on private ambulance services in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2026. [28176/26]

837. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of patient transfers carried out by private ambulance providers on behalf of the HSE in each of the years 2020 to date in 2026. [28177/26]

838. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the proportion of total non-emergency patient transport activity carried out by private ambulance providers compared to the National Ambulance Service in each of the years 2020 to date in 2026. [28178/26]

839. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the primary reasons private ambulance services are utilised by the HSE, including whether due to capacity constraints within the National Ambulance Service. [28179/26]

840. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any value-for-money analysis has been conducted comparing the cost of private ambulance provision versus expanding publicly operated ambulance capacity. [28180/26]

841. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE has a strategic plan to reduce reliance on private ambulance providers and increase in-house capacity, and if so, to outline the timeline and targets. [28181/26]

842. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total number of outpatient appointments classified as "did not attend" in each week from January 2025 to date in 2026, broken down by hospital group. [28182/26]