Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 28 Jun 2001

Vol. 539 No. 3

Written Answers. - Orthodontic Service.

Eamon Gilmore

Ceist:

45 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Health and Children the total number of persons awaiting orthodontic treatment in the Eastern Regional Health Authority; the steps being taken to reduce the waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19204/01]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin):

The provision of orthodontic services is the responsibility of the health boards in the first instance. I recognise that the waiting times for orthodontic treatment are unacceptably long. At the invitation of my Department, a group representative of health board management and consultant orthodontists reviewed the orthodontic services. The objective of this review was to ensure equity in the provision of orthodontic treatment throughout the health boards. Following this review structural changes are being introduced in the orthodontic services. These changes include the creation of the grade of specialist in orthodontics, the development of specialist training programmes and the creation of a grade of auxiliary dental worker to work in the orthodontic area.

However, it will be some time before these structural changes impact significantly on service levels. Consequently, I asked health boards to develop proposals to make an immediate significant impact on their waiting lists. An additional investment of £5.3 million has been approved for orthodontic services this year, of which £3.7 million is to fund an initiative on orthodontic waiting lists. The ERHA has been allocated an additional £2.34 million this year for orthodontic services of which £1.61 million was for the orthodontic initiative. The chief executive officer of the ERHA has advised me of the following developments in the region in relation to its initiative to improve its orthodontic services: two additional consultant orthodontists have been appointed; the first has been assigned to the East Coast Area Health Board and the second will take up duty next September in the South-Western Area Health Board; the recruitment of a consultant orthodontist for the Northern Area Health Board is currently in train; two orthodontic specialists have been recruited and a further recruitment drive is in progress to recruit four more; the recruitment process for three managers to manage the orthodontic services in the three area health boards has been completed; two of the managers will commence duty in July 2001 and the third will take up duty in August 2001; interviews for posts of dental surgery assistants in the East Coast Area Health Board have been completed and the recruitment process for the successful candidates is almost finalised.

A competition in respect of similar posts in the other area health boards is being organised; a competition to fill the posts of dental hygienist in the area health boards will commence shortly; the previously vacant post of superintendent radiographer at the regional orthodontic unit in St James's Hospital unit has been filled. A similar post for the Loughlinstown unit has been filled on a locum basis; a six surgery facility at the Loughlinstown regional orthodontic unit has been developed and is currently being equipped; the equipping of an additional five surgery unit at the St James's Hospital orthodontic unit is being completed; the Northern Area Health Board is currently progressing plans for the development of a new regional orthodontic unit to be located on the grounds of James Connolly Memorial Hospital; validation of existing waiting lists is currently in progress; agreement has been reached between the ERHA and the Dublin Dental Hospital on the training of specialists to work in orthodontics. Four dentists from the ERHA will commence training in 2001.

The recruitment of additional clinical staff has allowed treatment to commence or recommence for approximately 1,150 patients in the ERHA and the initiative in the authority will enable an additional 3,000 patients on the assessment waiting list to commence treatment.

The chief executive officer of the ERHA has informed me that the number of patients awaiting assessment and treatment in their area of responsibility at the end of the March quarter 2001 were as follows:

HealthBoard	AssessmentWaitingList	WaitingTime(Months)	TreatmentWaitingList	Waitingtime(Months)
ERHA	10,505	up to 72	950	24