Vol. 513 No. 4
157 Mr. Cosgrave asked the Minister for Health and Children the proposals, if any, he has developed to address the problem of lack of service in the orthodontic department in St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that young patients have been denied adequate treatment since October 1999 due to the failure to secure the services of orthodontic specialists. [2681/00]
179 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Health and Children the position of the back-log of patients seeking orthodontic treatment in the Kildare area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2810/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 157 and 179 together.
The provision of orthodontic treatment to eligible persons in the Eastern Health Board area, including Kildare, is the statutory responsibility of the Eastern Health Board. The health board has been experiencing difficulties in the provision of services in their regional orthodontic unit at St James's Hospital over the past few months. I understand from the board that these difficulties were caused by the consultant orthodontist's unilateral decision to withdraw from the provision of orthodontic assessments, orthodontic opinions and the commencement of orthodontic appliance therapy for new patients. The position was exacerbated by the withdrawal of consultant cover and the consultant orthodontist's refusal to provide guidance to dental clinicians regarding orthodontic procedures. Despite negotiations and discussions at the highest level, the consultant persistently refused to provide services as outlined above. I understand that the consultant orthodontist's actions led to her suspension from duty without pay with effect from 4 November 1999.
At the request of the Eastern Health Board, my predecessor in office recently terminated the suspension of the consultant orthodontist in question. The Eastern Health Board is now in the process of arranging for her to return to work and is endeavouring to ensure that the orthodontic service will be running normally shortly.
