MPs gnash teeth over dental waiting report

DENTAL waiting lists in Knox and the Yarra Ranges are unacceptable, opposition MPs say.
Opposition spokeswoman for Health Helen Shardey said the latest Your Hospitals report revealed Knox residents were experiencing lengthy delays for dental treatment.
Knox Community Health Service CEO Anne Lyon said patients at the clinic had to wait just under 22 months for general dental care and less than 24 months for prosthetics.
“We at Knox are a bit under the average waiting times,” Ms Lyon said.
She said waiting times had been ‘reduced a little’ over the past 10 months and the service was sitting within state benchmarks.
Ms Lyon downplayed Ms Shardey’s claims that the State Government was to blame for lengthy waiting lists.
“I don’t believe attribution of blame will help to address the issue,” she said.
Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe said Yarra Ranges dental services were in decay.
“The average wait for denture care is 27 months, which represents an increased wait of five months,” Ms Fyffe said.
She said Yarra Ranges residents in need of general dental care could wait up to 18 months for treatment. A spokesman for Health Minister Daniel Andrews said last year the government provided a record $138 million extra to cut waiting lists.
“We are also boosting dental health infrastructure with the number of community dental chairs up by 66 per cent and the opening of a $52 million Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne,” he said.
He said the government had also contributed $1.5 million towards establishing a $14.5 million rural dental school at Bendigo which is set to almost double the total number of graduating dentists in Victoria each year.