Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2024
527. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if there is any provision to encourage the establishment of dental practices in towns currently without them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8924/24]
View answerThe Dental Council have confirmed that we currently have more registered dentists in Ireland than ever before – 3,654 at present, which is an additional 182 registered dentists since March 2023. This reflects positive recent trends, with the comparative figure being 3,217 in 2018.
I am aware that there are some towns with no or limited DTSS dentists that have sufficient capacity to accept new patients. Where access to a dentist is difficult, local HSE services assist patients who make enquiries and make lists of DTSS contractors available to medical card holders. In exceptional circumstances, the HSE assists patients to access emergency dental treatment by directly contacting private contractors or arranging treatment to be provided by HSE-employed dentists.
In tandem we are also investing in fundamental reform of our healthcare services for the future, through implementation of the National Oral Health Policy. The policy provides a framework and a set of action areas, including strategic workforce planning, to comprehensively reform oral healthcare service design and delivery. To support this work, officials in my Department are currently finalising a workforce census for oral healthcare.
The implementation of the National Oral Health Policy, Smile agus Sláinte, is currently underway, and this sets out a number of actions that will help establish and support oral healthcare services in the community and throughout the country.
One of the actions, action 20, will address the establishment of dental practices in towns without them by developing a programme to support dentists and/or other oral healthcare professionals who serve rural and other underserved areas. The intention is to support people in accessing dental care in towns and rural areas also. As part of this, the service delivery model will be reviewed to ensure greater service uptake, especially for residents in rural areas. The HSE has now appointed a Strategic Reform Lead to drive Policy implementation across the organisation and to move forward in 2024 with developing new services for both adults and children in line with the Policy.
The implementation of Smile agus Sláinte, will also support dental services in towns and rural areas by promoting mentoring programmes as well as forms of Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Such CPD can include long distance and online courses which would be accessible to oral healthcare professionals working in rural areas.
The primary care community training model is at the heart of Smile agus Sláinte. These primary care community training models are intended to be in the community, across the country, in our towns and rural areas. Such an approach will support training students in these areas and increase the number of graduates who select practice in community-based clinics as a first career choice.
