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DENTISTS TELL T.D.s HSE'S ACTIONS HAVE CAUSED CHAOS & HARDSHIP TO DENTAL PATIENTS
IDA CALLS ON HSE TO RE-INSTATE MEDICAL CARD SCHEME
Tuesday 13th July 2010. The Irish Dental Association has told a Dail Committee that the HSE's attack on the Medical Card Scheme has caused chaos, confusion and hardship to 1.6m dental patients all over the country.
In a submission to the Joint Committee on Health and Children, the IDA said it believed this suffering was entirely avoidable.
The IDA representatives outlined to the Committee members how on the 27th April the HSE issued a Circular without any warning which with immediate effect restricted the Medical Card Scheme to emergency treatment only.
"No notice period was provided to patients. No notice period was provided to dentists who hold a contract with the HSE. Since that date no clarity has been provided to the patients, the participating dentists or the HSE's own staff on the measures outlined in the Circular."
Fintan Hourihan, the Chief Executive of the IDA said everyone knows that prevention is cheaper than cure, especially in the case of dental care.
"Poor oral health and failure to treat leads to the development of more complicated problems, the treatment of which is generally more complex and more costly. So the slash and burn approach applied by the HSE to the Medical Card Scheme makes no financial sense as well as being an indictment of our care for the less well off in society", Hourihan said.
Hourihan said the IDA was calling on the HSE to suspend the Circular with immediate effect, engage with the IDA and review alternative sources of funding. "That is the route map out of the present chaos and we need to act now before lasting damage is done to the dental health of the one third of the population who are medical card holders", Hourihan concluded.
For further information:-
Maria Whitmore, Gordon MRM, Ph: 087 2377105
NOTE TO EDITOR
In its submission the IDA includes a sample of cases reported by members of the Association since the end of April. One such case involved a psychiatric patient who is being denied gum treatment by the HSE.
Case Study - "I have a young woman suffering from major psychiatric illness who has been refused gum treatment by the HSE. This is despite the fact that she has spent the last six months in a psychiatric hospital. Her teeth were fine before admission but now she needs six fillings and gum treatment. According to the new guidelines I can only do two fillings with no provision for her swollen bleeding gums."
Treatment has also been denied to cancer patients, special needs patients, to elderly patients, to patients requiring dental checks ahead of major surgical operations, to patients with acute infections and to many others who dentists would believe to fall into high risk circumstances.
The full IDA submission and other examples of how patients are being adversely affected is available for download on the homepage of this site.
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