Dental services in Galway have reached crisis point as waiting lists “soar” and dentists drop out of the medical card scheme in “record numbers”.
This is the view of Sinn Féin Galway East representative, Louis O’Hara, who was reacting to HSE figures released to his party colleague, Dep David Cullinane.
According to the HSE figures, 44 per cent of dentists in the Galway area have left the medical card dental scheme in the last five years. This has coincided with a fall in spending on dental treatment in Galway, from €3.29 million in 2017 to €2.15 million in 2020 - a decrease of 35 per cent.
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Mr O’Hara [pictured] said HSE dental and orthodontic waiting lists “continue to spiral out of control”, with more than 716 people waiting in excess of two years for orthodontic services, and 239 waiting more than four years. Meanwhile, the number of patients seen by HSE Oral Health in Galway fell last year by 85 per cent - although the Covid pandemic would have played a considerable role in that.
The Irish Dental Association highlighted its concerns in the Oireachtas Health Committee, stating that difficulty in accessing dental treatment contributes to poor oral health and greater healthcare costs.
“The burden of this disproportionately falls on lower income groups, especially those who rely on medical cards,” said Mr O’Hara. “Dentists have expressed ethical as well as practical concerns about unilateral cuts to the dental scheme imposed during austerity. Care delayed is care denied and the crisis in health continues to get worse under this Government.”
