Stafford Clinic delivers better dental care

Dentists, therapists and staff at the Stafford Dental Clinic have been praised for slashing waiting times for patients by Health Minister Lawrence Springborg.

The clinic, operated by Metro North Hospital and Health Service, has dramatically reduced waiting times for local patients who need a non-urgent dental check-up.

“Across the State, this Government inherited a long-standing crisis in public dentistry with patients waiting ten years and more,” Mr Springborg said.

“But in the past sixteen months,   public and private resources have been co-ordinated across Queensland to cut the number of long-wait public dental patients.

“This Government promised Queenslanders better access to improved front-line health services and nothing demonstrates our success better than this campaign to give relief to so many left to suffer for so long.

“Since February 2013, the number of patients waiting for a check-up at the Stafford Dental Clinic has been cut by 37 pc, from 5,047 to 3,163. Vouchers have been issued and patients given access to private treatment to complement increased activity at public oral health clinics such as the one at Stafford.

“Today, more than 90 pc of current general care (ie: check-up) waiting list patients at the Stafford Dental Clinic have been waiting less than 12 months and no patients have been waiting longer than 2 years. 

“Over the past 16 months, more than 2,400 vouchers have been issued by Stafford Dental Clinic entitling patients to attend private dental practices, including 1322 for general treatment, 1011 for emergency care and 111 for dentures.

“In contrast, on 28 February 2013, there were 3,931 patients who had been waiting over two years.”

(ENDS) 24 June 2014
Contact: Cameron Thompson 0407-585230