35% drop since 2020 in medical card scheme dentists
New figures have shown that just 866 dentists are signed up to the medical card scheme, which is down more than 1,350 when compared with 2020, representing a 35% drop.
Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne obtained figures revealing a significant decline in the number of dentists participating in the medical card scheme, dropping to just 866 as of now. This represents a 35% decrease compared to 2020, when there were 1,866 dentists enrolled. Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne and the President of the Irish Dental Association, Dr Bridget Harrington-Barry, discussed the reasons behind this drop-off during an interview on RTÉ's Drivetime.
Harrington-Barry highlighted that there is no single cause for the drop-off but rather a need for a more sustainable scheme for both patients and dentists. She criticized the current structure of the scheme, calling it "a budget-led scheme" and suggesting that it fails to meet the needs of patients and modern dentistry. Harrington-Barry emphasized that the scheme should be redesigned to better accommodate patients' clinical needs and that the government should be open to new ideas, despite the small improvements made so far.
Written by urgent.news from RTE News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
