VOHA recently made a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics for its Inquiry into Regional Inequality in Australia. The Terms of Reference for this Inquiry can be found HERE.
VOHA’s submission addresses the following Terms of Reference:
a. improved co-ordination of federal, state and local government policies,
b. enhancing local workforce skills and;
c. any other related matters. – specifically health.
VOHA highlights the following points in its submission:
- Oral health care is not discretionary care
- Oral health care is primarily an individual expense with limited Commonwealth and state and territory funding available
- VOHA’s primary concern is that there is an unacceptably long waiting period to access public dental care in most of regional Victoria
- Waiting times for dentures are generally longer and are dependent on general dental care needs being met
- The eligible population (for public dental services) is not small
- VOHA has considerable concerns about the short and long-term impacts of the delays in oral health care caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and;
- There is a significant spatial maldistribution of dental practitioners.
You can view a copy of VOHA’s submission HERE.
Victorian Oral Health Alliance 