Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to address the question of waiting lists for orthodontic services. He mentioned the case of a young lady awaiting treatment and if he sends me the details, I will pass them to the Minister as well.

The HSE provides orthodontic treatment to those who have the greatest level of need and have been assessed and referred for treatment before their 16th birthday. An orthodontic assessment determines if the referral meets the criteria for the service and, if so, what priority the patient is given. Those with greatest clinical need are prioritised. Orthodontic services are generally provided by orthodontic consultants and specialist orthodontists, who are based in HSE orthodontic clinics throughout the country. In addition, orthodontic therapists assist in providing services in some areas.

The Minister accepts there are significant delays in accessing some services provided by the HSE, caused in part by the necessary concentration of resources at managing the Covid-19 pandemic, the cyberattack and challenges in recruitment of staff in some areas of the country. Waiting lists vary regionally and according to the complexity of the condition. There are generally longer waiting lists for the least complex care.

At the end of the first quarter of 2022, over 10,000 people were awaiting treatment. However, a further 12,000 children were in active treatment. The HSE has put in place a number of measures to address waiting times and these include the prioritisation of the filling of permanent vacancies. The HSE is prioritising the filling of these permanent vacancies and a consultant orthodontist has recently been recruited for community healthcare organisation, CHO, 6, in Loughlinstown, County Dublin. Competitions are ongoing to recruit additional consultant orthodontists in CHO 5 in the south east and in CHO 4 in Kerry.

In the third quarter of 2021, the HSE extended the orthodontic procurement programme that allows patients to have treatment with private specialist orthodontists. Under the updated framework, children and young people assessed as grade 4, whose care can be appropriately dealt with in a community practice setting and who have been waiting over four years, are offered treatment. To date, over 1,612 patients have accepted transfer and are currently in treatment. To support this procurement programme in 2022, the Minister made €4.1 million available for orthodontics as part of the waiting list action plan.

The HSE is also developing a standardised approach to assessment with consultant and specialist orthodontists and annual training for referring dentists. The purpose of this is to ensure that all referrals will receive an orthodontic assessment within six months and that the number of inappropriate referrals will be reduced. Access to orthodontic treatment in another EU jurisdiction is available under the EU cross-border healthcare directive for patients that are already on an orthodontic treatment waiting list. Many patients in Border areas have accessed care in Northern Ireland through this route pre-Brexit. This is being continued through the Northern Ireland planned healthcare scheme.

I reiterate that the Minister for Health fully acknowledges that the waiting lists for essential orthodontic treatment are unacceptable and the Minister wants to see real improvement this year with the significant funding that the Government has made available. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It is simply unacceptable that the waiting lists are far too long.

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