Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will read my script, but I can also discuss a different type of service that we hope to introduce and that has significant possibilities.

As we all know, the HSE provides orthodontic treatment to those who have been referred for treatment before their 16th birthdays. Patients are assessed by the HSE orthodontic service under the modified index of treatment need. The index has two components, those being, dental health and aesthetic. Under the modified index, the aesthetic component has three categories. The dental health component has five categories ranging from category 1, where there is no need for treatment, to category 5, where there is a great need. Grade 5 and some grade 4 cases are treated within the public health system.

A regional orthodontic service for Galway and Mayo is provided at Merlin Park University Hospital, with outreach clinics provided in both counties. Unfortunately, a breakdown of waiting lists by county and age is not available. Children are generally referred to the assessment waiting list in sixth class when they are 11 or 12 years of age. Currently, all are assessed within 12 months and all those in the categories eligible for treatment are treated within 36 months of assessment. The nature of orthodontic care means that immediate treatment is not always desirable. It is estimated that, in up to 5% of cases, it is preferable to wait for further growth to take place before treatment commences. We all understand this.

The latest data available for treatment waiting lists are from the end of December 2014. They show that 1,212 children were on the grade 5 waiting list in Galway and Mayo.Of these, 640 or almost 53% were waiting for less than 12 months; 462 or 38% were waiting for 12 to 24 months; and the remaining 110, 9%, were waiting for 25 to 36 months. The grade 4 treatment waiting list has a total of 2,088 children. Of these, 912 or almost 44% were waiting for less than 12 months; 832 or almost 40% were waiting for 13 to 24 months; and the remaining 344, 16%, were waiting for between 25 and 36 months.

The HSE has established a pilot scheme in Dublin north-east, which will involve the use of orthodontic therapists in the treatment of a number of eligible children. Consideration will be given to expanding this scheme to other HSE areas in the future. An initiative which will especially focus on those waiting for four years or longer, which I think was the concern of the Senator more than anything else, will be put in place later this year. A panel of independent practitioners under contract to the HSE will bein situfor three years to treat certain categories of misalignment. It is expected that this initiative will have a positive impact on the waiting lists. It is those waiting the longest we all have most concern about.