The Irish Dental Association has rejected the offer of increased fees for medical card patients because of a demand by the Department of Health that the increases be linked to stricter supervision of the scheme. As a result, strike action by the 700 association members involved has gone ahead.
Action was threatened because fees paid for procedures carried out on medical card patients had fallen significantly behind those for patients treated under the PRSI-backed scheme, and because of restricted access to the scheme for medical card holders.
Mr Donal Atkins, IDA general secretary, said yesterday that people on the PRSI scheme could seek an appointment with a dentist directly, while medical card patients had to receive health board approval. Only 12.9 per cent of medical card holders had received routine treatment last year.
While acknowledging that the Department and the Health Service Employers Agency (HSEA) had addressed the fees issue, Mr Atkins said the "fundamental issue of patient access falls far short of recognising patients' needs. We will continue to insist that medical card holders are allowed reasonable access to treatment." He claimed that the HSEA offer on access for patients was "less than what was offered at a meeting six months ago". The HSEA has stated that the operation of the scheme must be monitored in a way that ensures "probity and accountability".