Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2004
139 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason the average waiting time for children seeking orthodontic treatment in the Southern Health Board area at 42 months is over three times the average waiting time in any other health board area. [6828/04]
View answer148 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Health and Children the numbers of children on the assessment waiting list for orthodontic treatment for the entire country, and for the Southern Health Board area; and the reason for the high proportion of the total in the Southern Health Board area. [6827/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 148 together.
I am pleased to advise the Deputy that I have taken a number of measures to improve orthodontic services in the Southern Health Board area and on a national basis.
The grade of specialist in orthodontics has been created in the health board orthodontic service. In 2003, my Department and the health boards funded 13 dentists from various health boards for specialist in orthodontics qualifications at training programmes in Ireland and at three separate universities in the United Kingdom. These 13 trainees for the public orthodontic service are additional to the six dentists who commenced their training in 2001. Thus, there is an aggregate of 19 dentists in specialist training for orthodontics. These measures will complement the other structural changes being introduced into the orthodontic service, including the creation of an auxiliary grade of orthodontic therapist to work in the orthodontic area.
Furthermore, the commitment of the Department to training development is manifested in the funding provided to both the training of specialist clinical staff and the recruitment of a professor in orthodontics for the Cork Dental School. This appointment at the school will facilitate the development of an approved training programme leading to specialist qualification in orthodontics. The chief executive officer of the Southern Health Board has reported that the professor commenced duty on 1 December 2003. In recognition of the importance of this post at Cork Dental School my Department has given approval in principle to a proposal from the school to further substantially improve the training facilities there for orthodontics. This project should see the construction of a large orthodontic unit and support facilities which will ultimately support an enhanced teaching and treatment service to the wider region under the leadership of the professor of orthodontics.
In June 2002, my Department provided additional funding of €5 million from the treatment purchase fund to health boards specifically for the purchase of orthodontic treatment. This funding is enabling boards to provide both additional sessions for existing staff and purchase treatment from private specialist orthodontic practitioners. The Southern Health Board was allocated an additional €0.720 million from this fund for the treatment of cases in this way.
The chief executive officers of the health boards-authority have informed my Department of the following information on their assessment waiting lists for December 2003:
|
Health Board/Authority |
Assessment Waiting List |
Average waiting time (months) |
|
SWAHB |
291 |
3 —6 |
|
ECAHB |
100 |
1 —3 |
|
NAHB |
179 |
3 —6 |
|
MHB |
287 |
4 |
|
MWHB |
2,432 |
24 —36 |
|
NEHB |
Nil |
No waiting time |
|
NWHB |
990 |
5 |
|
SEHB |
283 |
3 —3.5 |
|
SHB |
4,034 (12 years or older) |
According to date of birth(currently 1990) |
|
WHB |
654 |
10 |
As the Deputy is aware, the provision of orthodontic services, including the management of waiting lists, in the Southern Health Board area is a matter for the chief executive officer of that board in the first instance; therefore, my Department has asked him to respond directly to the Deputy's questions on the board's waiting list.
Finally, the chief executive officers of the health boards-authority have informed my Department that at the end of the December quarter 2003, there were 21,295 children receiving orthodontic treatment in the public orthodontic service. This means that there are over twice as many children getting orthodontic treatment as there are children waiting to be treated and 4,000 extra children are getting treatment from health boards since the end of 2001.
