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DENTISTS HAVE PASSED a vote of no confidence in Health Minister Stephen Donnelly as one in six people are now waiting over three months for an appointment.
A survey from the Irish Dental Association also shows that more than half of patients are being forced to wait longer than three months for specialist care for their teeth, such as orthodontic and oral surgery.
It comes as dentists gather in Kilkenny this weekend for their annual conference.
Other findings include that more than half of the 363 dentists surveyed have tried to hire a dentist in the past 12 months with almost 60% of those unable to find a suitable candidate to fill the role.
IDA President Eamon Croke said frustrations came to the fore at a pre-conference AGM where dentists voted no confidence in Donnelly.
“Our membership is beyond frustrated at the endless broken promises and false dawns by the Minister and his Department,” Croke said.
“The recent vote of no confidence in the Minister by dentists shows how broken their trust is in a system and service that has no capacity or seen any meaningful commitment to reform.”
Major concern has been expressed at how the Dental Treatment Service Scheme (DTSS) which allows free services for adults over 16 who have a medical card.
According to the survey, 80% of dentists who currently hold a DTSS contract say they are no longer able to take on or see new medical card patients – 93% of dentists say that they would not sign up to the medical card contract in its current form.
“The fact that an unprecedented 93% of dentists say that they would not sign up to the medical card contract in its current form even with the promise of a new scheme is indicative of a model which is not fit for purpose and directly impacts on the most vulnerable in our society,” Croke said.
Without action from politicians, patients will “continue to shoulder the burden of a system crumbling under decades of inaction and neglect”, Croke added.
“The Minister himself said this week that the state has had a ‘blind spot’ when it comes to dentistry and oral health.
“Our question to the Minister and his officials today is what it will take to open their eyes to the scale and urgency of the crisis that they choose to ignore so that dental health is finally recognised as an integral part of general health.”
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I have the fear fair bad today
Did ya know going on the lash cures the fear.
Wouldn’t believe a word out of anyone when asked how much they drink. People under the age of 30 will exaggerate and over 30′s will under estimate. Nonsense statistics
I hate the way people boast about how much they have drank. They should be knocking a few off the amount instead of adding a few on. I have never heard it done in any other country.
Denial denial denial…….denial is one of the strongest characteristics /indicators of someone who has A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE.
I forgot to say ……Blaming someone/something else for your bad drinking habits/choices is also another strong indicator of alcohol abuse.
FFS, the Irish media and the UK media are exactly the same when it comes to alcohol consumption, what is it with all the rubbish concern about how much we drink, we will all drink as much as we like even if we know that we are drinking too much no matter what those who think they know better tell us. Lately here in the UK it’s demonisation of middle aged women who are now cause for concern for drinking too much wine after work, reading Irish media I see the same crap telling people what is good for them. Please stop demonising peoples escape habits as it is causing me to drink more than is recommended of my current favorite red from Portugal.
Cheers
If we get any better at drinking, They will be advertising jobs for
Tail gunner on a Guinness delivery truck soon.
At least we’re good at something
Yep, drugs and alcohol always seem to make the shit we’re in, appear better than reality, I think? Might be an idea to improve our idea of a just and decent society for all and not just the 3D rich?
Have to love all the whining about the recession and supposed difficulties making ends meet when the average person apparently spends ~€30 on alcohol every week.
Sobering Stats !
I drink roughly 125L. Whisky/yr. – Never caused trouble, never hurt anyone, – only myself.
Death by whisky, – way to go…
The fear is DTS serious stuff when that happens!
Lightweights!
I remember my first beer…
Depends on the company one keeps. Go figure!
have your say