Medical card dental access
Deputy Burke says medical card patients cannot access Cork University Dental Hospital directly because of GMS rules. The Taoiseach says the issue is serious, will speak to the Health Minister, and will try to unblock extra capacity.
Currently, approximately 600 dentists are providing care dental care for medical card patients. The number was over 1,200 when dentists were operating more privately. I have found out that Cork university dental hospital cannot take in medical card patients. It can do so if they are referred in by accident and emergency or by another dental practice, but it cannot take them in directly because the hospital does not have a GMS panel number. The hospital would be quite prepared to take on medical card patients if it had that number. In view of the substantial drop in the number of dentists operating privately who are prepared to take on medical card patients and the huge influx of people from the Kerry area, for instance, coming in and looking for dentists in the Cork area, I ask that this issue be looked at.
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He is correct when he says that this is a very serious issue. Access to the GMS in dental capacities is very restrictive. I will talk to the Minister for Health in respect of this. My understanding is that Cork university dental hospital used to take public patients in the past. That was always the tradition. I will certainly pursue that specific issue with the Minister to see if we can unblock that. It would facilitate additional capacity in a situation where there are huge pressures.