Robert Troy: Two-Year Oral Health Action Plan Explained

Thank you, Cathaoirleach, and I'd like to thank all deputies across the House for their contributions to the debate this evening. And while some progress has been made recently, it is absolutely fair to say, and I won't disagree with many of the arguments here this evening, the current level of access to dental and orthodontic service is not where it needs to be, and this needs to be improved. And I know that from the various contributions that have been made here tonight, from when I was in taking this debate on behalf of the government, but also indeed from the engagement with constituents in my own constituency. And it is very important to recognise the challenges that many individuals and families are facing, whether they involve delays in accessing dental care, lengthy waiting lists for orthodontic treatment, or difficulties accessing general anaesthetic, these issues are simply not good enough. As has been acknowledged, meaningful reform is needed to address these long-standing issues, and work is underway in this regard, and the Department of Health is working in conjunction with the HSE to develop a focused two-year national oral health action plan to improve access to oral health care services while long-term reforms is underway. Completion of the action plan, which is at an advanced stage, will also be informed in so far as possible by the recommendations made by the Joint Directors Committee on Health in their report on dental services. The action plan will respond to sustained service pressures, workforce constraints, and growing waiting lists, particularly for children, people with additional needs, and other vulnerable members of our community. The plan contains 10 key action areas for implementation, which includes addressing waiting lists for child dental programme and orthodontic services, a review of the dental treatment service scheme, support for recruitment, education and training for dental service positions, and support for innovation and new models for service. In the coming weeks, the Department expects to meet with the Irish Dental Association to further consult on the plan, with a view to finalising and publishing it shortly thereafter. I think engagement is critically important, but the publication and implementation of this plan is a priority and can't come quick enough, and I think we can all agree on this. The implementation of the plan will be overseen by a jointly chaired Department of Health and HSE Implementation Oversight Group. The Department and the HSE will continue to engage with key stakeholders to inform the delivery of the plan. I acknowledge that the current school-based appointment service for children in 2nd, 4th and 6th class is inadequate. Delays in early intervention can result in children needing more extensive treatment in later life. The action plan will address this by reducing the appointment backlog, with an initial focus on children in 6th class. While this is an important step, it is not a substitute for a service that provides early, preventative oral health care for all children. This reform will be essential to improving oral health care services, and is aligned with our national oral health policy. Smile agus sláinte. The success of the action plan will be enabled through addressing workforce constraints. Without a significant number of trained oral health care professionals, we cannot deliver the service of level that is required. While it is encouraging that the number of dentists has increased by over 28 percent since 2019, that's simply not good enough. We still need more dentists as well as dental hygienists and dental nurses to provide oral health care services that the public needs, deserves and requires. At the same time, we must maximise the role of dental hygienists, dental nurses and other dental health care professionals, including the introduction of direct access where appropriate to enhance the capacity of our workforce. In collaboration with the Dental Council, the scopes of practice of oral health care professionals, including dental hygienists, are being examined by the Department of Health to ensure each oral health care professional can work to the top of their licence, which is aligned with sláinte care. Workforce reform must also be supported by a modern legislative framework. Updating the Dentist Act 1985 and introducing statutory continuous professional development are important steps in ensuring our oral health care services are fit for purpose and capable of meeting future demands. These reforms help to support ongoing professional development across the dental sector. I'd like to assure the deputies that the Minister for Health will continue the ongoing work to address both the access issues that are affecting current health care service and to progress work on the implementation of the Oral Health Action Plan, which sets out a body of transformational reforms. These challenges are significant, but we aim to address them across a multi-year programme of work. The first phase over the next two years will have specific focus on short-term improvements to core services, aimed at improving access and reducing waiting times. At the same time, this plan will support strategic planning and progressing the necessary structural reform required to build an oral health care service that provides care to people with the right care in the right place at the right time. Along with the Minister of State, I once again thank the deputies across the House for their contributions and reiterate the Government's commitment to improving our oral health care services. Go raibh maith agat.