Vol. 544 No. 3
317 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the long waiting lists for children in need of orthodontic treatment within the South-Eastern Health Board area; the plans with his Department to increase the number of orthodontists to that area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28785/01]
The provision of orthodontic services is the responsibility of the health boards in the first instance. I have initiated a range of measures to substantially increase the capacity of the orthodontic services and reduce the waiting times for orthodontic treatment.
Structural changes are being introduced into 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, a dentist for the South-Eastern Health Board – SEHB – commenced training in October 2001 for specialist in orthodontics qualifications. Discussions on providing an additional training course to commence in 2002 are also under way.
My Department has funded the appointment of a director of specialist training for the Irish committee for specialist training in dentistry through the postgraduate medical and dental board. The director has taken up duty and will play a pivotal role in assisting the different agencies involved in dental specialist training programmes. In addition, my Department has also funded the recruitment of a professor in orthodontics at Cork University dental school to facilitate the development of an approved training programme leading to specialist qualifications in orthodontics. Applications for the post were invited when it was advertised on 19 October last. Capital funding of approximately £1 million was also provided to the orthodontics unit there for its refurbishment to an appropriate standard.
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 £150,000 – 190,000 – has been approved to the SEHB for orthodontic services this year, of which £100,000 – 127,000 – is to fund an initiative on orthodontic waiting lists. This has enabled the health board to recruit additional staff. Furthermore, under this initiative, my Department is exploring with health boards new arrangements for the treatment of patients, both by private specialist orthodontic practitioners and in out of hours sessions by health board orthodontists.
I am confident that, when fully implemented, this initiative, combined with the structural changes to the orthodontic service, will significantly increase the number of patients in and reduce waiting times for treatment.
