Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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176. To ask the Minister for Health whether she is aware that the waiting time for adult special care needs general admission waiting list for routine dental care in Mallow General Hospital is over two years. [24152/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Mallow General Hospital as part of the South West Region and the South/ South West Hospital Group admits patients requiring acute hospital admission within the Cork/ Kerry region.

The HSE advises that in accordance with the escalation policy within the region and based on risk assessment of non-urgent/ non-cancer related/ non-time dependent surgical cases, a ward typically used for elective day case admissions at Mallow General Hospital can be utilised for inpatient admissions in order to optimise patient care.

I am aware of delays in accessing oral healthcare for patients with additional needs under general anaesthesia. I acknowledge that the current model of oral healthcare service provision, which was developed in the 1990s in response to the identified oral healthcare needs at that time, needs to be modernised and aligned with current needs.

The Government is committed to reforming oral healthcare services, including special care services, through the implementation of the National Oral Health Policy, Smile agus Sláinte. In Budget 2025, €2 million was allocated for this year, increasing to €4m in 2026, to continue the implementation of the National Oral Health Policy. This investment is also going to provide an additional 15 HSE staff to deliver oral healthcare services, in addition to efforts to address current vacancies.

The National Oral Health Policy has two key goals: • to provide the supports to enable every individual to achieve their personal best oral health. • to reduce oral health inequalities across the population, by enabling vulnerable patients to access oral healthcare and improve their oral health.

These new oral healthcare services will be prevention-focused and will be tailored to each age group across the life course from birth to old age. Patients with additional needs will be supported to mainstream to a local general dental practice of their choosing as much as is possible, while the HSE Oral Healthcare Service will reorient to provide the additional time, technology and skills to provide care for those who can't receive the entirety of their care in a general dental practice. The HSE will also develop the necessary models of care, clinical guidelines and care pathways to support provision of services.

The implementation plan for the first phase of policy implementation, to end-2027, is currently being finalised by my Department and the HSE and includes reform and expansion of services for children and adults as one of several priority actions.