Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for Health for coming into the Chamber to respond to this Topical Issue matter. The parents of children in my constituency who are on orthodontic waiting lists for treatment at the dental clinic at Ashtown Gate, Navan Road, have been notified recently that they can transfer to the waiting list at the orthodontic unit in Louth County Hospital in Dundalk. This would involve not only considerable travel costs, particularly as orthodontic treatment can involve several return visits to the dental clinic, but also consume considerable time for children and their parents. I will read a letter which one of my constituents received last week from the orthodontic service at Ashtown Gate, because it takes an interesting tone. The letter reads:

Dear Parent or Guardian,

We are now in a position to offer [Jack] an orthodontic treatment place in the Orthodontic Unit, Community Care Building, Louth County Hospital, Dundalk, County Louth if you are willing to travel to Dundalk for the duration of the treatment.

Please note that [Jack's] complete orthodontic treatment will take place in Dundalk and patients who commence their orthodontic treatment will not be able, under any circumstances, to transfer back to the orthodontic unit at Ashtown Gate. If you accept this treatment place [Jack's] record will be forwarded to the Orthodontic Unit in Louth County Hospital and the orthodontic staff in Dundalk will be in contact with an appointment by post within the next four to six weeks.

Please confirm if you wish to avail of this treatment place in Dundalk or remain on the waiting list in Ashtown Gate by completing the section below and returning it to the above address. I cannot give you the waiting time for orthodontic treatment in Ashtown Gate.

Please respond immediately on receipt of this later and no later than two weeks from the date at the top of this letter to indicate your preference for treatment.

Please note a complete orthodontic treatment typically equates to approximately 30 to 40 visits to the Orthodontic Unit in Dundalk over a period of two to four years. It is imperative that you attend all of these appointments punctually. Failure to do so may result in you being removed permanently from the orthodontic list.

The letter is signed by the manager of orthodontic services, HSE Dublin north-east. The tone of this letter is interesting. In effect, it is putting a gun to the patient's head.

As Jack's parents found this notification disturbing, I wrote to the director general of the HSE asking him to review the orthodontic clinic location for children in Dublin city north of the Liffey to find a more convenient location for a dental clinic. Today, I received a reply from Mr. O'Brien's office to tell me that my correspondence had been referred to the HSE's parliamentary affairs division. This response is not good enough, which is why I have sought to raise the matter in the House as a Topical Issue matter. I ask the Minister to intervene with the HSE as a matter of urgency to find a more accessible orthodontic health treatment clinic for the Dublin region north of the Liffey.

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