Churchill clinic reopened

Earlier this month the Minister for Health announced that a two-chair clinic had been reopened at Churchill in the LaTrobe Valley. This clinic had been closed in 2004 due to workforce shortages.

Ms Pike said the upgrade of Churchill’s new clinic at the Latrobe Community Health Service meant 1600 people would no longer be forced to travel to Moe for their dental care.

More significantly, this release noted how much the waiting lists had been reduced overall in the last two years. “Since the end of 2004, we have reduced the general dental waiting list by 84,464 people - from 262,440 to 177,976,” Ms Pike said.

Regrettably, many clinics, especially in rural Victoria, continue to experience waiting times of between three and five years, and so much more remains to be done.

More media coverage of dental waiting lists

Extensive media coverage of dental waiting list issues resulted from two media releases issued by the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch Inc. (ADAVB) this week. The releases highlighted the latest public dental waiting times as at March 2006 and published on 21 September by the Department of Human Services.

To review the updated waiting times and to send a message to the Minister for Health and other MPs about the need to significantly improve public dental services, visit www.voha.org

New clinics opened in Shepparton and Mooroopna

Two new dental clinics were opened in the Goulburn Valley yesterday by Minister for Aged Care and Aboriginal Affairs, Gavin Jennings MLC, supported by Federal Member for Murray and Minister for Workplace Participation, Dr Sharman Stone, representing Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott.

A stunning and light-filled twelve chair teaching clinic was opened at Goulburn Valley Health (GVH), and a two-chair clinic opened at Rumbalara Aboriginal Cooperative at Mooroopna.

Both clinics are run in partnership with the University of Melbourne School of Dental Science, thus giving final year BDSc and BOH students opportunity to learn and work in rural settings, including the special indigenous service at Rumbalara Health Service.

In the University of Melbourne media release about the event, Professor Mike Morgan, Deputy Head of the School of Dental Science states "Working hand in hand with the School of Rural Health and Goulburn Valley Health this program will significantly improve local dental services and has the goal and potential to increase the workforce in rural and remote areas".

Both of these issues are priority areas in the Victorian Oral Health Alliance (VOHA) Ideal Dental Health Policy platform, and the opening of the new clinics is a most commendable development. The Victorian and Federal Governments are to be congratulated for their commitment of the required funds to permit the establishment of these excellent facilities. These clinics demonstrate the way ahead for many other rural areas in Victoria, experiencing long waiting lists and workforce shortages.

In his opening speech, Minister Jennings noted that the GVH clinic was jointly funded by the Victorian Government ($10 million), the Commonwealth Government ($4 million) and the Pratt Foundation ($0.5 million). In his media release about the event, he also noted that the State Government "had provided $3 million to help establish the Rural Dental Health Program in conjuction with the University of Melbourne".

The new teaching facility at GVH forms part of an Integrated Care Centre, in which the dental unit is co-located with the Care Coordination Team, the Disease Management Team, Complex Care Services, Integrated Diabetes Services, Podiatry, Drug and Alcohol Services, Falls and Mobility Clinic, Hospital in the Home, Wound Management and Continence Services. These programs have been co-located so that clients can find services more easily, and staff can work more closely together to meet patients' total needs more effectively. This model is now apparently the template for all new clinics throughout the State.

The Rumbalara clinic deserves special mention because it is one of a very few indigenous dental services located within a rural community. Most other aboriginal communities in Victoria have to use bus services to take patients to Melbourne for treatment. The community controlled health service at Rumbalara is one of which they can be very proud, and the enthusiasm and commitment of their dental team is exemplary.

Dental waiting times updated (as at March 2006)

The Department of Human Services has updated dental waiting times information on its website, so that waiting times as at March 2006 are now visible.

The Victorian Oral Health Alliance (VOHA) has taken this data, and presented it in a more accessible form at the VOHA website. The data is also linked to email facilities allowing those concerned about unreasonably long waiting times to send a message to their MP or the Minister for Health urging them to take action to improve the situation.

VOHA has also created lists of the worst 13 clinics in each of rural Victoria and Melbourne, described as the "Unlucky 13" lists. The ADAVB, which is a member of VOHA, issued media releases about these rural and metropolitan clinics, and extensive coverage of the story has followed, particularly in regional media.

There is both good and bad news for public dental patients in the new data, with shorter waits in some areas, and longer waits in others.

Amongst the Unlucky 13 rural clinics originally highlighted on the VOHA website, three have improved, eight have deteriorated and two remain unchanged. The following list highlights the changes for these targeted clinics as at March 2006, with rises or falls since December 2005.

Clinic Location...............Wait (months)
Portland .......................68 .. up 2
Moe ...............................65
Sale ...............................65 .. up 3
Churchill .....................65
Warrnambool ..............56 .. up 1
Horsham ......................50 .. up 1
Ballarat .........................47 .. down 6
Bairnsdale ....................47 .. down 3
Wangaratta ...................46 .. up 3
Orbost ..........................44 .. up 3
Corio ............................42 .. up 2
Echuca .........................40 .. up 1
Maryborough ..............38 .. down 04

Hamilton drops out of the Unlucky 13 since December 2005, as it was 37 months and is now 36 months. Daylesford is threatening to join the list with the waiting time there increasing from 35 to 37 months, as is Colac, where the waiting time has increased from 32 to 35 months.

If you are concerned about these delays in access to dental care, visit the VOHA website to send a message to your local MP or the Minister for Health.

Dental crisis hits the TV News

The lead story on the Channel 7 News at 6.00 pm tonight was about the dental crisis around Australia.

The story noted that "The federal government remains unmoved that dental care is the responsibility of the states despite a damning poll which shows 650,000 Australians are on waiting lists."

It also reported that "opposition spokeswoman Julia Gillard said Labor would reintroduce a national dental health program if elected to government".

The next federal election cannot be held before 4 August 2007, but the Victorian election is scheduled for 25 November 2006. Candidates in the Victorian election have the opportunity to make a positive move now to significantly reduce waiting lists.

Send a message to your MP or the Victorian Minster for Health calling on them to do more for patients waiting unreasonably long for dental care at www.voha.org

SA Budget targets 10 month waiting times

The South Australian Budget for 2006/07 was handed down today, and highlighted "a $12.9m dental package to provide restorative dental care to 28,000 people over the next four years, with waiting times to be cut to 10 months".

A media release issued by SA Treasurer and Deputy Premier Kevin Foley MP (pictured) refers.

No such waiting time target has yet been set by any of the candidates in the forthcoming Victorian election. Victorian waiting times continue to be well over a year on average and in the worst cases are well over 5 years.

To express your concern about Victorian public dental issues to your MP or the Minister for Health , please visit www.voha.org

Colac Herald highlights VOHA website

The Colac Herald ran a story about the VOHA website (www.voha.org) on Monday 18 September, headlined "Dental website adds bite".

The article noted that the website offered "public dental patients a new way to sink their teeth into the State Government about Colac's 32 month wait to see a dentist".

Member for Polwarth, Terry Mulder is also quoted in the article saying "I am particularly concerned for our elderly people who because of poor oral health may now require admittance to hospital for their dental treatjment because of infection risk. This is a disgraceful situation given that many of these people may have only required basic treatment if they had been able to access a dentist when required."

Parliamentary Committee highlights dental workforce shortages

According to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee of the Victorian Parliament:

"No improvement has been achieved in reducing the staff vacancy rates in community dental clinics located in rural Victoria. Rural areas experienced a vacancy rate of 31 per cent at March 2005, the rate for March 2006 was 32 per cent. The department has employed a number of strategies to address this issue." (p.23)

Elsewhere in the report the difference between metropolitan and rural vacancy rates was highlighted:

"At March 2006, metropolitan community dental services had a vacancy rate of 7 per cent, while rural services had a vacancy rate of 32 per cent." (p.222)

These comments appear in the committee's Report on the 2006-07 Budget Estimates (please note that this link will take you to a download screen, where you can decide whether to download the pdf version of this file, which is almost 4Mb). This report also notes that the funding target for dental services in 2006-07 is $129.8m.

Quoting Health Minister Bronwyn Pike's advice about current Government action to improve the rural dental workforce problem, the report states:
"The Minister also indicated that the Victorian Government is supporting rural workforce development through rural student clinical placements, rural bonded scholarships and support for the establishment in 2006 of a Bachelor of Oral Health Science degree at La Trobe University, Bendigo. The first La Trobe University, Bendigo Bachelor of Oral Health Science students will graduate in 2008, boosting numbers of dental therapy and hygiene professionals provided through University of Melbourne graduations."

If you would like to urge the Minister to take more action to improve this situation, visit the Victorian Oral Health Alliance website.

New online lobbying facility

Victorians concerned about the long waiting lists for dental treatment can now express their views to politicians using a new website - www.voha.org

The Victorian Oral Health Alliance has given them a dedicated website so they can help the parties contesting the Victorian State election to recognise the need for additional dental health policy measures.

Launched today, the advocacy site highlights oral health problems facing Victorians: public dental waiting times up to five years; elderly, Aboriginal and other people missing out on dental care; and lack of oral disease prevention programs for many Victorians, including unfluoridated water for about 20% of the population, mainly in rural areas.

The site includes an ideal dental health policy platform which has been recommended to the parties contesting the Victorian election in November 2006. It also enables people to locate their nearest public dental clinic, check waiting times, and send email or fax messages to their local MP, their local election candidates or Health Minister Bronwyn Pike asking them to take action to address

• the urgent need for more timely oral health care for public dental patients
• the need to address dental workforce shortages in Victoria, especially in rural areas
• the provision of a high profile oral disease prevention campaign using the popular media.

VOHA meets Senior Liberals

A VOHA deputation met today with Mr Ted Baillieu, Leader of the Opposition, and Mrs Helen Shardey, Shadow Minister for Health, for very favourable consideration of VOHA proposals to improve public dental services in Victoria.

Mr Baillieu and Mrs Shardey showed considerable interest in VOHA suggestions, and asked many detailed questions with a view to determining which elements they will include in the Liberal's Dental Health Policy Platform, which is still under development. The meeting allowed an extended discussion of the key issues, and further information has also been sought on a number of matters.

The VOHA representatives emphasised that fluoridation of water supplies provides a basis for oral health, and then detailed a range of measures ranked in the following priority order:
1. Reducing dental waiting times
2. Addressing dental workforce shortages
3. Making special provisions for delivery of dental care to residents of nursing homes and other special needs groups e.g. ATSI
4. Increasing the investment in oral disease prevention activities - recognising that the two most prevalent oral diseases, caries and gum disease, are preventable.