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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 6 Nov 2001

Vol. 543 No. 2

Written Answers. - Orthodontic Service.

Michael Noonan

Question:

390 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason for the delay in receipt of the orthodontic treatment by a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; if his attention has been drawn to the condition of the orthodontic service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26314/01]

The provision of orthodontic treatment is the statutory 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 intro duced 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.

Agreement has now been reached at the Health Service Employers Agency on the creation of the specialist in orthodontics grade in the orthodontic service. In addition, six dentists for the Eastern Regional Health Authority, North-Eastern Health Board and South-Eastern Health Board commenced their training in October 2001 for specialist in orthodontics qualifications. Furthermore, three dentists from the Western Health Board and North-Eastern Health Board are already in specialist training for orthodontics. This brings the total number of dentists in such training to nine.

Discussions on providing an additional training course to commence in 2002 are also under way. Through the postgraduate medical and dental board, I have also funded the appointment of a director of specialist training for the Irish Committee for Specialist Training in Dentistry. The postgraduate director will assume his duties in January 2002. His role will be to promote and ensure that co-ordinated postgraduate training in dentistry of a high standard is provided.

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 – 6.729 million – has been approved for orthodontic services this year, of which £3.7 million – 4.698 million – is to fund an initiative on orthodontic waiting lists. This will enable health boards to recruit additional staff and engage the services of private specialist orthodontic practitioners to treat patients. The Mid-Western Health Board has been allocated an additional £529,000 – 671,000 – this year for orthodontic services of which £404,000 – 513,000 – was for the orthodontic initiative. Under the initiative, the board proposes is to recruit additional staff and validate its orthodontic waiting lists.

In addition, my Department recently approved a proposed scheme from the Mid-Western Health Board to engage the services of private orthodontists to treat patients. I am also informed by the chief executive officer of the Mid-Western Health Board that at the end of the September 2001 quarter, there were 1,408 patients in orthodontic treatment in the board.

I have asked the chief executive officer of the Mid-Western Health Board to investigate the position in relation to this case and to reply directly to the Deputy as a matter of urgency.

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