Dental Waiting Times On The Rise In Ireland
Hundreds of dental patients in Ireland are being forced to join waiting lists for treatment, it has been confirmed. Recent statistics show that waiting lists in the country have increased, with young children, teenagers and patients with special needs the worst affected.
President of the HSE Dental Surgeon Group, Iseult Bouarroudj, the increased waiting times are a direct result of staff shortages, which have occurred since a recruitment embargo was announced by the HSE.
According to Ms Bouarroudj, dentists are trying to treat as many patients as they can, but there are simply too many patients for the number of dentists and some areas are heavily over-subscribed. Teenage orthodontic patients are among the worst affected by the shortages, with many forced to wait for around 2 years for the treatment they need. There are also lengthy waiting lists for treatment carried out under general anaesthetic and oral surgery.
Ms Bouarroudj has now called for the Health Minister to react to the statistics and allow recruitment; there are currently 350 public dentists seeing in excess of 250,000 children per year and this is simply not sustainable.
Ms Bouarroudj made the comments at an annual seminar of the HSE Dental Surgeons Group; her calls are also supported by the Irish Dental Association.
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