asked the Minister for Health the number of people on the waiting list at the Dublin Dental Hospital for prosthetic treatment; and the reason for closing the waiting list in July 1970.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Dental Hospital.
30.
Presumably the Deputy's question relates to the waiting list for the provision of dentures by the Dublin Dental Hospital on behalf of the Eastern Health Board for eligible persons from the Dublin area. I understand that the hospital closed the waiting list in June, 1970, because of the large number of persons then awaiting this service and the hospital's inability to deal with new patients within a reasonable time. There has since been a considerable reduction in the waiting list which, I am informed, now stands at about 300. The matter is primarily one for the Eastern Health Board.
Can the Minister say what steps he has taken to deal with the waiting list for dental treatment? Some people have been waiting for a very long time.
The Eastern Health Board have arranged provisionally for a number of whole-time dental officers to hold extra evening sessions and they have also arranged for sessions with private dentists. This scheme is still awaiting final decision because it is necessary to look through the waiting list at the Dental Hospital to ensure that when the scheme comes into operation it will work in the best possible way.
31.
asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that the present dental services are totally inadequate and that there is a waiting list of up to two years for essential dental treatment at the Dental Hospital, Dublin; and what proposals his Department have for providing an adequate dental service for the country.
I am informed that there is no undue delay on the part of the Dublin Dental Hospital in providing treatment for eligible patients under the health services, except in the case of adult patients who require dentures and children referred under the school health service for orthodontic treatment. As I have indicated in my reply to another question, steps have been taken by the hospital and the Eastern Health Board to reduce the waiting list for dentures. Also consideration is being given to the possibility of reducing the waiting list for orthodontic treatment at the hospital. I am aware that the dental services administered by health boards are, at the present stage of development of such services, inadequate to provide comprehensive dental treatment for all eligible persons. However, continuous efforts are being made to improve the dental services, especially the services for children, in so far as existing resources and priorities in the health services will permit. Over the last few years there has been a 20 per cent increase in the number of wholetime dental officers employed in the public dental service and efforts will continue to be made by health boards to recruit additional wholetime staff.
May I suggest to the Minister that he has been misinformed, as he has been on a number of occasions when replying to my questions? He said there is no undue waiting period. I am aware that one person who was told there was a waiting period of two years for acute dental treatment had to go to a private dentist. She is an ineligible person and could not get recoupment of the money involved. What measures will the Minister take to compensate these people or to provide a proper service for them?
I could not possibly reply to the Deputy because I would not know to which particular case he is referring but, as the Deputy knows, if he is referring to an orthodontic case we have given approval to the appointment of a wholetime orthodontist for the Dublin area but we have not been able to secure an orthodontist. Orthodontists are extremely scarce.
This person wanted dental extractions and she was told that they could not be done for 18 months. This was an acute case. She was an ineligible patient. What can be done in cases like that?
The Deputy should refer the case to the Eastern Health Board.
It was referred to the Eastern Health Board. They said nothing could be done and that it was a matter for the Minister for Health.
Perhaps the Eastern Health Board were right in their decision.
May I bring the case to the attention of the Minister?
Yes, the case can be referred to me.