Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 27 Jun 2001

Vol. 539 No. 2

Written Answers. - Orthodontic Service.

Jack Wall

Question:

127 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of children receiving orthodontic treatment by private orthodontists funded by his Department in the South West Health Board area; if this practice will continue until the waiting lists have been depleted to acceptable levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19279/01]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The provision of orthodontic services is the responsibility of the health boards.

I am informed by the chief executive officer of the Eastern Regional Health Authority that the approximate number of patients receiving treatment by private orthodontists, which is funded by the South-Western Area Health Board, is 39.

The board envisage that a further meeting on this matter with the Orthodontic Society of Ireland, the representative body for private orthodontists, can be arranged in the near future.

Jack Wall

Question:

128 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Health and Children when a person (details supplied) in County Kildare will receive orthodontic treatment considering that he was informed that he would receive such treatment in February 2001 and has still not received an appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19280/01]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The provision of orthodontic services to eligible persons in County Kildare is the statutory responsibility of the Eastern Regional Health Authority. I have asked the authority's chief executive officer to investigate the position in relation to this case and to reply directly to the Deputy as a matter of urgency.

Question No. 129 answered with Question No. 126.

Noel Ahern

Question:

130 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Health and Children when an orthodontic treatment service will be provided for a person (details supplied) in Dublin 11; if details of his x-ray assessment in 1995 can be located; if he is still on an assessment waiting list; if a timetable for service can be given; the reason a promised pilot public private scheme due for implementation in the Northern Authority Health Board on 1 April has not commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter and bring forward measures to deal with the seven year backlog as the Eastern Regional Health Authority plans are making no progress. [19285/01]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The provision of orthodontic services is the responsibility of the health boards in the first instance.

I recognise that the waiting times for orthodontic treatment are unacceptably long. At the invitation of my Department, a group representative of health board management and consultant orthodontists reviewed the orthodontic services. The objective of this review was to ensure equity in the provision of orthodontic treatment throughout the health boards. Following this review structural changes are being introduced in the orthodontic services. These changes include the creation of the grade of specialist in orthodontics, the development of specialist training programmes and the creation of a grade of auxiliary dental worker to work in the orthodontic area.

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 will fund an initiative on orthodontic waiting lists.

The ERHA has been allocated an additional £2.34 million this year for orthodontic services of which £1.61 million was for the orthodontic initiative. The ERHA's chief executive officer has advised me of the following developments in the region in relation to its initiative to improve its orthodontic services: Two additional consultant orthodontists have been appointed, the first has been assigned to the East Coast Area Health Board and the second will take up duty next September in the South-Western Area Health Board; the recruitment of a consultant orthodontist for the Northern Area Health Board is currently in train; two orthodontic specialists have been recruited and a further recruitment drive is in progress to recruit four more; the recruitment process for three managers to manage the orthodontic services in the three area health boards has been completed; two of the managers will commence duty in July and the third will take up duty in August; interviews for posts of dental surgery assistants in the East Coast Area Health Board have been completed and the recruitment process for the successful candidates is almost finalised; a competition in respect of similar posts in the other area health boards is being organised; a competition to fill the posts of dental hygienist in the area health boards will commence shortly; the previously vacant post of superintendent radiographer at the regional orthodontic unit in St. James's Hospital unit has been filled; a similar post for the Loughlinstown unit has been filled on a locum basis; a six surgery facility at the Loughlinstown regional orthodontic unit has been developed and is currently being equipped; the equipping of an additional five surgery unit at the St. James's Hospital orthodontic unit is being completed; the Northern Area Health Board is currently progressing plans for the development of a new regional orthodontic unit to be located on the grounds of James Connolly Memorial Hospital; validation of existing waiting lists is currently in progress; agreement has been reached between the ERHA and the Dublin Dental Hospital on the training of specialists to work in orthodontics; and four dentists from the ERHA will commence training in 2001.

The recruitment of additional clinical staff has allowed treatment to commence or recommence for approximately 1,150 patients in the ERHA. The initiative in the authority will enable an additional 3,000 patients on the assessment waiting list to commence treatment.

The proposal from the ERHA for a grant-in-aid scheme was approved by my Department. I am informed by the ERHA's chief executive officer that the working group established in the Northern Area Health Board to report on the pilot scheme's implementation are continuing to consider,inter alia, the legal implications of the scheme.

I have asked the authority's chief executive officer to investigate the position in relation to the case raised by the Deputy and to reply directly to him as a matter of urgency.