Labor dental plan dubbed a furphy, policy dressed up as new
Victoria already has a public dental system – a network of dozens of facilities, many which haven’t been maintained – raising the question of why Labor wants to spend $230 million on 10 new clinics.
That is the opinion of the Greens and Opposition which on Saturday with the Australian Dental Association questioned whether existing public dental services, which have faced staffing problems on the government’s watch, can be expanded.
Victoria already has the Royal Dental Hospital Melbourne and more than 40 integrated and registered community health services and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations providing public dental care across metropolitan and regional areas.
Private dentists also deliver publicly funded treatment through Victorian voucher schemes.
Children aged 0–12 are already eligible for public dental care, while eligible 0–17-year-olds can access the Commonwealth Child Dental Benefits Schedule, worth up to $1158 over two years.
Old policy dressed up as a new initiative
Labor’s proposal would establish seven clinics in Melbourne and three in regional Victoria.
Like the existing public hospital and some healthcare affiliates, free check-ups, fillings, root canals and extractions are carried out on a walk-in basis.
They are first-in-first-serve.
The Greens’ concern is whether the ALP can properly staff and maintain what it has, let alone recruit enough dentists and other clinicians for 10 more clinics.
“For the last 12 years they have completely neglected our public dental system…patients have been on public waiting lists for years,” deputy leader Sarah Mansfield said.
“Half our public dental clinics are sitting empty because they can’t be staffed…our public dental workforce is one of the poorest paid in Australia and they simply can’t attract dentists and other oral health workers because the pay isn’t good enough,” she added (continues below).
The Australian Dental Association and state opposition agree.
“The same government that promised the Commonwealth Games is now promising they can fix the public dental mess they created,” shadow Health Minister, Georgie Crozier, said.
“Labor can’t staff the dental services we already have yet want Victorians to believe they can suddenly provide free dental care to seven million people, 365 days a year,” she added.
“Labor’s mismanagement of our health system has meant Victorians are waiting seven times longer for public dental care compared to New South Wales”.
Policy on the run
The Greens unveiled a marketing campaign focused on improving public dental care five days before Labor’s announcement.
Forty eight per cent of public dental chairs can’t be staffed.
“These are the things that Victorian Labor has been responsible for, for the past 12 years and its only at the 11th hour, because of relentless pressure from the Greens that they felt the need to announce something on dental,” Ms Mansfield said.
“But if we want to fix our dental system, there is a lot that needs to be done,” she added.
“We need a long-term plan to ensure that all Victorians have access to free dental care not just a handful of clinics dangled there as an election sweetener because Labor is feeling the electoral pressure”.
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