Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 December 2004
39 Mr. McCormack asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she is satisfied that dental treatment for children and adults with special needs is adequate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31762/04]
View answer96 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the dental services which are available to persons with disabilities; the dental work which is the State’s responsibility; if her attention has been drawn to problems in this area nationwide; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31772/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 39 and 96 together.
As the Deputy is aware, the provision of dental treatment to patients with special needs is the statutory responsibility of the health boards in the first instance.
The Deputy may also be aware that the level of dental caries has declined in all socio-economic groups in Ireland. However, it is recognised that those from socially disadvantaged groups and those with disabilities suffer disproportionately from the effects of oral disease. Important steps have already been taken to focus greater attention on developing dental services for people with special needs.
There is significant research under way examining the oral health needs of persons with disabilities. This research is part of the national survey of adult and children's dental health being carried out by health boards, University College Cork and the Department of Health and Children. The outcome of this research will be used in the formulation of a new strategy for the dental services; ultimately, it will have a major impact on the evolution of dental services in the future.
In 1994, the dental health action plan was agreed which allowed for the reorientation of the dental services towards the provision of structured care for special needs patients. In this regard, health boards have restructured their dental services to give greater recognition to those involved in delivering dental services to persons with special needs.
A grade of senior dental surgeon in special needs duties has been created. The remit of the senior dental surgeon in special needs includes the identification of specific target groups in the community who may have difficulty in gaining access to or accepting oral health care or who may be at greater risk from dental disease or oral dysfunction than the majority of the population. Such target groups include the medically compromised and those with physical and intellectual disabilities. In addition, the senior dental surgeon in special needs is responsible for the prioritisation of the oral health needs of these groups and the supervising of the ongoing training needs of dental staff working with people with special needs.
My Department recognises the importance that leadership in the area of special needs dentistry can bring to the future direction and development of this area. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the Department has funded the appointment of a professor of special care dentistry at the Dublin Dental School and Trinity College Dublin. A professor for this post has been appointed and is playing a very important role in developing education, training and research in the arena of special care dentistry.
A number of boards refer patients who are medically compromised and who need complex care to specialist dental units in Cork University Hospital and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin. In this way, the health boards ensure the welfare and safety of these patients. The Dublin Dental School and Hospital acts as a national resource for health board and general practice dentists for the referral of patients who require specialist treatments that dentists cannot provide. The school and hospital has service agreements with a range of agencies to provide specialist care services and these play an important role in specialist-consultant training programmes as well as delivering specialist care for patients. At the Cork Dental School and Hospital, senior staff, including specialists in paediatric dentistry, provide an important consultant service within their area of specialisation.
Notwithstanding the developments outlined above, my Department is committed to continuous improvement in dental services for people with special needs over the period ahead.
41 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the huge number of children awaiting orthodontic treatment and assessment, which in some instances can involve a waiting time of up to eight years; and her proposals to deal with the situation. [31834/04]
View answerThe provision of orthodontic services is the statutory responsibility of the health boards-authority in the first instance.
The aim of my Department is to develop the treatment capacity of orthodontics in a sustainable way over the longer term. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that a number of measures have been adopted to improve orthodontic services 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 19 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 19 trainees for the public orthodontic service include six dentists who successfully completed their training in September 2004 and have taken up duties with the boards. 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. My Department has given approval in principle to a proposal to further substantially improve training facilities for orthodontics at the school, 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-authority 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 chief executive officers of the health boards-authority have informed my Department that at the end of the September 2004 quarter there were 11,041 patients awaiting orthodontic treatment with an average waiting period ranging from 12 to 48 months. The chief executive officers of the health boards-authority have also informed my Department that at the end of the September 2004 quarter, there were 22,168 patients receiving orthodontic treatment in the public orthodontic service. This means that there are over twice as many patients getting orthodontic treatment as there are waiting to be treated and more than 6,000 extra patients are getting treatment from the health boards-authority since the end of the September 2001 quarter.
