Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is certainly a hugely positive new policy, with eight new packages of care for children up to the age of 16, and an attempt by the Government to be proactive. For what it is worth, there was extensive consultation before the new approach was launched.

On the second issue raised by the Deputy, in 2015, the HSE received a review report it had commissioned following receipt of a statement of concern from two consultant orthodontists relating to an orthodontic service serving the greater Dublin area between 1999 and 2002. The statement of concern was initiated by the consultants who claimed that some children suffered damage as a result of interrupted orthodontic treatment at the time of the dispute between the consultants and the HSE relating to the model of care for delivery of orthodontic services. The original review report of 2015 was, in effect, a scoping report commissioned to advise the HSE on what actions should be taken to determine if there was a risk of harm to patients during that period. The report did not include a review of any patient records for the period and so, understandably, reliable conclusions could not be drawn at the time regarding definitive patient harm.

Since receipt of the 2015 report, the HSE has initiated a comprehensive audit of more than 7,500 patient files available from that period. Dedicated funding and personnel have been allocated by the HSE for this work. Due to the scale of the audit of the files and the requirements for dedicated personnel and resources, the timeline has been protracted. However, this work is nearing completion. While the Minister and the HSE regret that the work has taken a long time to progress, the priority for the HSE at all times has been for a robust audit on which to base further action. The HSE has informed the Minister that it cannot, as a matter of course, commit to the publication or otherwise of the report prior to the completion of the audit process. The benefits of publication must be balanced with the requirement for patient confidentiality and its obligations to afford natural justice to all other parties concerned. I assure the House that once the audit of patient files from the period is complete, a HSE serious incident management team will consider the results to determine if a recall of any patient is required and to co-ordinate open disclosure, as necessary.

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