Patients in East Gippsland are waiting more than 18 months for basic public dental treatment, well above the State average of 13.5 months.
Tim Bull, the State Member for Gippsland East, said the lengthy delays are the result of mismanagement within the public dental system.
“When adult patients finally reach the top of the waitlist, they are handed a voucher and told to find a private dentist because the public system cannot help them,” Mr Bull said.
“Private practices are often unable to complete the work due to booking capacity, or the vouchers have such short treatment timelines that they expire before the work can be done.”
He added that private dentists are sometimes hesitant to take on these patients because State Government voucher payments can take up to eight months to be reimbursed, leaving practices to carry the cost for an extended period.
“This is a failure of the public system,” Mr Bull said.
“Private dentists in East Gippsland do outstanding work and continue to support their communities, but they cannot be expected to carry the public dental service. It is not up to private practices to do the heavy lifting for a system the Labor Government has mismanaged.”
Mr Bull said the Minister for Health, Mary-Anne Thomas, has been aware of these issues for years.
“The Minister knows about these problems as I have raised them many times in Parliament. She has simply failed to act,” he said.
“The Government has had years to address workforce shortages and has failed to put any practical strategies in place.”
