An eventful year

HSE Dental Surgeons Group report

2022 was an exceptionally busy and eventful year for the HSE Dental Surgeons Group. Public service dentistry returned to routine operation after Covid-19 and the IDA did a lot to support members working in the public dental sector.

Five meetings of the HSE Dental Surgeons Committee took place during the year and numerous topics were discussed. We acknowledged ongoing issues as: low and decreasing staff numbers; very poor general anaesthetic services available to our patients; and, the failure of the HSE to engage in meaningful dialogue with the Association about the problems of the HSE dental service.

The Association negotiated with HSE management on behalf of members in regard to the pandemic payment, the sessional rate for public service dentists, the lack of CPD funding, employment levels and payment awards, which took hours and hours of negotiations.

The IDA engaged with foreign dentists seeking registration, offering advice and support. Our members were very empathetic and proactive in seeking solutions to help foreign dentists to find employment.

Our Annual Seminar in Portlaoise on October 13 and 14 turned out to be a great success. Our members were happy to reconnect with each other, share Covid experiences and just chat. We had a great variety of topics and speakers, including: Dr Brian McLean, a clinical psychologist speaking on emotional resilience; Dr Siobhan Barry on different treatment methods for primary dentition; and, Dr Dermot Murnane giving tips on oral surgery.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank Elaine Hughes, Dr Grainne Dumbleton, Dr Maura Cuffe and my predecessor as President, Dr Amalia Pahomi, for their support during the preparation of our Seminar.

Our conference had great media coverage. CEO Fintan Hourihan spoke on Newstalk and on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland about underfunded dental services locally and nationally, and he instanced case studies of patients suffering severe difficulties arising from lack of access to elective treatments available in different areas.

Members of the HSE Dental Surgeons Group Committee also accompanied the CEO in meeting two local TDS, Deputies Carol Nolan and Sean O’Fearghail, seeking political support in addressing the crisis in access to dental care. With the assistance of Deputy Nolan, this resulted ultimately in a formal invitation to the Oireachtas before Christmas, where the Association made a compelling presentation to a wide cross-section of TDs.

The Association negotiated with HSE management on behalf of members in regard to the pandemic payment, the sessional rate for public service dentists, the lack of CPD funding, employment levels and payment awards, which took hours and hours of negotiations.

Implementation of the oral health policy is also a main topic at all of the committee meetings. We also held numerous talks with GP Committee members towards developing a consensus statement on the changes we all want to see. Dr Dympna Kavanagh accepted an invitation to meet with Management Committee representatives to discuss the proposed roll-out of Smile agus Sláinte – I was pleased to attend along with my colleague Dr Siobhan Doherty.

I would like to sincerely thank all of our Committee members who are passionate about service delivery and are working on our behalf. I wish to especially thank Fintan and Roisín and the team for looking after the affairs of the public dental sector in such an efficient manner and working so hard on our behalf. I would like to wish our President-Elect Dr Siobhan Doherty the very best of luck and every success in the coming year as President.