Vol. 518 No. 6
301 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason the provision of orthodontic treatment in the Western Health Board region has a waiting list of three and a half to four years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12496/00]
The provision of orthodontic treatment in the Western Health Board region is the statutory responsibility of that board. Currently the waiting time for orthodontic treatment in the Western Health Board area is three to three and a half years.
Difficulties in recruiting replacement staff have contributed to the waiting time. The board's orthodontic unit based at Merlin Park Regional Hospital, Galway, currently has the services of three full-time orthodontic surgeons, three part-time sessional staff and one consultant orthodontist.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that, this year, I have made additional funding of £150,000 available, on an ongoing basis, to the Western Health Board to expand and improve the current orthodontic service in the region. It is planned that the waiting times for treatment will be reduced progressively as further additional resources become available.
