|
|
Donegal children sick to the teeth
15.02.16
DONEGAL children are
facing a wait of over two years for orthodontic
treatment to align their teeth.
Some 260 children in the county have been described
as "urgent" cases for treatment yet still face long
public waiting lists.
General election candidate Charlie McConalogue
outlined the statistics described the long waiting
lists as "completely unacceptable".
"One parent told me that her daughter has been on a
waiting list for 22 months and has been told that
she will have to wait at least another six months to
have the treatment carried out at Letterkenny
University Hospital, or go to Sligo, where the delay
may not be as long," said the Fianna Fáil candidate.
"I have raised this issue with the Health Minister
on numerous occasions, who has confirmed that dental
nurse post has been vacant for most of last year. |
“On top of the staffing
issues at the hospital, there are also major
equipment problems – three of the dental chairs in
the department have been broken for months and the
Saolta Hospital Group has refused to take
responsibility for the damage," he added.
He said: “The most recent stats reveal that at the
end of November there were 260 children categorised
as 'urgent' on the waiting list – 118 are waiting
more than two years.
"It is an outrageous situation that children are
being forced to wait years for treatment because of
staffing delays and broken equipment. It is high
time that the Health Minister intervened and
addressed these unacceptable waiting times." |
 |
|
Donegal FF election hopeful Charlie
McConalogue. |
|
