Jimmy Deenihan
Question:69 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children when a consultant orthodontist will be appointed to serve County Kerry. [14709/01]
Other Questions. - Orthodontic Service.
The provision of orthodontic services is a matter for the health boards in the first instance.
Following recommendations in the Moran report, Review of Orthodontic Services, structural changes are being introduced in the orthodontic services. These structural changes include the creation of the grade of specialist in orthodontics, the development of specialist training programmes and the creation of a grade of auxiliary dental worker to work in the orthodontic area. However, it will be some time before these structural changes impact significantly on service levels. Consequently, I asked health boards to develop proposals to make an immediate significant impact on their waiting lists. Additional funding of £5.3 million has been provided for orthodontic services this year, of which £3.7 million is to fund an initiative on orthodontic waiting lists.
The Southern Health Board received an additional investment of £813,000 in 2001 under the initiative. The board's proposals include the recruitment of two additional consultant orthodontists, the commissioning of four additional orthodontic chairs in the orthodontic unit in St. Finbarr's Hospital, the development of new orthodontic units in Tralee and the north side of Cork city and the validation of waiting lists. I have also funded a full professorial post in the Cork Dental School and Hospital to facilitate the development of a programme of specialist training in orthodontics.
The chief executive officer of the Southern Health Board has advised me that the consultant orthodontist for the Tralee orthodontic unit will provide orthodontic services to County Kerry and parts of west Cork. The recruitment process for this post is currently in train. Qualifications for the post are at present being cleared with the training and regulatory bodies and I am informed that this process will be completed by the end of May, at which stage the post will be formally advertised.
I welcome the Minister's reply. I welcomed a similar reply in November but we still do not have an orthodontist.
A question for the Minister.
That is a question in itself.
Is the Minister aware that there is a three and a half year wait in County Kerry for orthodontic treatment? It is one of the longest waiting times in the country. Approximately 1,000 young people in Kerry are awaiting treatment. The Minister will surely agree that this is not fair. Young people are now more conscious than ever of their appearance and the wait for treatment is affecting their self esteem and personalities. Will the Minister give a precise indication of when the consultant orthodontist for County Kerry will be appointed? It could be a long process as it might be difficult to recruit a consultant orthodontist.
I accept that the waiting lists are too long. They were particularly long in Dublin and Cork so I took steps to deal with them in the context of the Estimates last year. My November reply indicated that I was providing funds to the health boards, having asked all of them to come forward with short-term initiatives to reduce the waiting lists. The health boards did so and we provided funding for the plans they submitted.
The Southern Health Board's plan involves the recruitment of two additional consultants. Both posts have been submitted to the local appointments commission to be advertised. Obviously, I do not control that process. The commission will advertise the posts in the normal way. I understand the advertisements will be published in May but it will be some time after that before the person is in place. Additional facilities and a new regional orthodontic unit will be established in Tralee. There is a substantial investment in improving orthodontic services in Kerry for the first time in a long time although, admittedly, it might be a few months before the person is in place.
Recently I had further discussions with the health board to ensure that the funding I allocated will be spent this year to ensure the waiting lists are reduced.
I am sick and tired of the waffling of this Government for the four years it has been in office. Every health board has waiting lists of more than four years. The Minister has failed.
A brief question for the Minister. The Deputy's colleagues are waiting to put questions.
The Government has failed. Will the Minister, once and for all, give this problem to the private sector to reduce the waiting lists? It is a simple thing to do; all that is required is pounds, shillings and pence. Does the Minister consider it right that a three year old child in my health board area had to wait 12 months to have a tooth removed under anaesthetic? That is the type of health service we have. The Minister can send out all the PR people he wishes—
The question is concluded. I call Deputy McCormack.
The Minister has failed. Will he hand this problem to the Ombudsman to ensure something is done for children?
I call Deputy McCormack.
I am fighting for the poor children.
The Deputy is not the only one.
Has the Minister any plans to extend the pilot scheme that is in operation in the Eastern Regional Health Authority whereby parents are given a 50% refund of the cost if they have the work carried out privately? The refund is 100% if they are medical card holders. Does he plan to extend the scheme to other health board areas? That would eliminate or shorten the waiting lists in a considerably shorter period of time than four and a half years, which is the waiting time in the Western Health Board area.
I remind the Minister of the urgency of this matter. A concerned mother told me a few days ago that her young daughter did not smile for the past year because of the problem with her teeth. It has had a huge effect on the girl's personality.
I do not accept Deputy Ring's assertion. We have devolved much authority to the health boards. I asked the health boards to come forward with plans and I allocated funding to them to implement the plans. I will evaluate the status of their plans in the next few weeks. I have already told them that if they wish to contract the work to the private sector, they can do so.
More reviews and evaluations.
The Minister should order them to do it—
There is nothing inhibiting them from contracting private work—
—and not let them hide behind the Minister.
Allow the Minister to continue without interruption.
With regard to Deputy McCormack's point, I wish the scheme I sanctioned in the Eastern Regional Health Authority was up and running. It is not up and running.
What?
It is not up and running.
Nothing is up and running.
Only the PR is up and running.
The authority put the proposal to us. I considered it a good idea but the authority is now taking legal advice on it. I accept the Deputies' concerns about the waiting lists. I am equally concerned. I secured a significant increase in funding this year to try to reduce the waiting lists—
The House gave the Minister the money.
Deputy McCreevy gave me the money and we made sure—
The taxpayers gave the Minister the money.
—it was voted on. The Deputy said that we had thrown too much money at the health services during the budget debate.
The time for this question is concluded.
Will the Minister extend the pilot scheme to other health board areas?
We will be talking to the health boards. If they wish—
I will not allow the Minister to answer questions asked by way of interruption. There are Deputies in the House who have submitted questions and I want to give them the opportunity to hear their questions answered.