Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Jan 2001

Vol. 529 No. 1

Written Answers. - Orthodontic Service.

Pádraic McCormack

Question:

518 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the three year waiting list for orthodontic treatment in the Western Health Board area; the steps he will take to rectify the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30471/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The provision of orthodontic services to eligible persons in Counties Mayo, Galway and Roscommon is the statutory responsibility of the Western Health Board. The Western Health Board's orthodontic department is staffed by one consultant orthodontist and four dentists who are undergoing training in orthodontics. They are each supported by a dental surgery assistant. In addition, a principal dental surgeon carries out orthodontic work in Mayo, on a part-time basis.

At present there are 2,426 patients receiving orthodontic treatment from the Western Health Board.

Waiting lists for this service are as follows:

1.Assessment:Category A (urgent)	None
1.Assessment:Category B (non urgent)	446

The waiting time for assessment of non urgent cases is six months.

2.Treatment:Category A (urgent)	None
2.Treatment:Category B (non urgent)	2,272

Of these 2,272 patients, 293 have been waiting less than one year, 581 have been waiting one to two years, 995 have been waiting two to three years and 403 have been waiting more than three years.

The current waiting list situation arose primarily as a result of staff vacancies three years ago when the consultant orthodontist and two dentists left the service. Unavoidable delays in recruitment of replacement staff created a backlog, which is now being actively addressed. The situation has been exacerbated by the increased demand for services in recent years.

I have long recognised that the waiting times for orthodontic treatment are unacceptably long. Following recommendations in the Moran report (Review of Orthodontic Services) structural changes are being introduced in the orthodontic services to allow the targets set out in the dental health action plan to be achieved. However, it will be some time before these structural changes impact significantly on service levels. Consequently, I asked health boards to develop proposals to make an immediate significant impact on their waiting lists. An additional investment of £5.3 million has been approved for orthodontic services this year, of which £3.7 million is to fund an initiative on orthodontic waiting lists. The Western Health Board has been allocated additional funds of £0.495 million for orthodontic services this year. This will enable the board to tackle its orthodontic waiting lists by means of contractual arrangements with private orthodontists and by increasing the capacity of the board's own in-house orthodontic service.

The health board estimates that these initiatives will allow for approximately 800 patients to be taken off the waiting lists during 2001. The objective is to reduce the treatment waiting period to not more than 12 months over the next three years. This is an internationally acceptable standard of service response.