Dental left out of newly established National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission
Friday, February 29, 2008
The ADA expresses disappointment of the composition of Labor’s newly established National Health and Reform Commission.
The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission will develop a long-term health reform plan for a modern Australia. Suggesting ways of improving primary health care, hospital and community care and preventative healthcare will be examined.
Dr Christine Bennett, will chair the 10 member body. She is currently the Chief Medical Officer at MBF Australia Ltd. Other commissioners include people from primary care, a remote area nurse, academics, a former Victorian Liberal Health Minister, a former Labor Premier, doctors and others with experience of the health bureaucracy.
Federal President of the ADA, Dr John Matthews said, “it’s disappointing that no one from the dental profession was on the Commission’s make-up.”
Recently, Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has espoused Labor’s commitment that prevention should take a far greater role in the health system saying that “we are determined to shift prevention from the margins to the centre of health care – a crucial part of building a health system for a modern Australia.”
The ADA has welcomed such news. “Prevention programs are a worthwhile investment as such campaigns will reduce long term financial health burden. General health would be likely to improve as there is demonstrable evidence to relate oral heath to general health,” Dr Matthews said.
“Australia’s dental crisis is unacceptable especially given a substantial proportion of dental disease is preventable.”
The ADA believes attention to dental health would make a genuine contribution to Labor’s health reform body and as such should review its composition to include dental representation. Labor has been ‘championing’ the need to alleviate the current dental crisis in Australia and this presents the opportunity to show this commitment.
The ADA made a submission to Labor’s Health and Hospitals Advisory Group on Federal Labor’s National Health Reform Plan in September last year.
29 February 2008