MINISTER FOR Health Mary Harney has called on the Health Service Executive to refer to the Garda any data it has that might indicate fraud in the dental service.
Ms Harney said it was not acceptably for any group, particular professionals , to defraud the State, especially at a time when there was pressure on resources.
The Minister was responding to a report in The Irish Timesthis week which said that fraudulent and inappropriate claims by dentists participating in the publicly funded Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) could cost at least €8 million this year.
She said the HSE could not be expected to police every situation but it should refer instances of alleged fraud for investigation by the Garda.
Ms Harney said she knew there was a problem but had not been aware of the extent of it. She was speaking yesterday at a conference organised by the ESRI on the impact of demographic change on the health system by 2021.
Prof Richard Layte of the ESRI told the conference that the future trends for the health service arising from the ageing of the population were hugely worrying, but there were options for change.
ESRI projections indicate a need for 55 per cent more acute hospital beds by 2021, up to 48 per cent more GP consultations and a possible doubling of prescriptions. In addition, the number of outpatient visits will grow by 25 per cent and up to 900 new long-term care beds will be needed each year.
Prof Layte said system-wide reforms would be needed if the healthcare system was to be reformed without a serious degradation in the quality of care.
He suggested more use should be made of the “great untapped resources” of nurses and pharmacists as part of primary care teams. “Pharmacists are incredibly educated people with real skills . . . being used as shopkeepers.”
