3rd World Dental Services in Southland

new-zealand-labour-party

Mon Apr 15 2013 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

3rd World Dental Services in Southland

Monday, 15 April 2013, 11:02 am
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

3rd World Dental Services in Southland.

Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene is appalled local Maori, are having to access low cost dental services at the University of Otagos’ dental training school in Dunedin.

“The reason is simple enough. In Southland it’s hard to access affordable oral healthcare, but the inventiveness of some people astounds me. It seems some Maori have found others in the same situation and have loaded up vans to go through to Dunedin to receive dental care at the university’s Dental School, and that’s not good enough”.

The MP has come out in support of Professor John Broughton, a UOA dental specialist who has highlighted the issue and who has been trying to establish an outreach service in Invercargill for two years but to no avail.

“I understand the Southland DHB will contact Professor Broughton to see what the existing barriers are, that prevent people from accessing dental services in the region, but the answer is simple. It’s too expensive.
Rather than filling up a big van with patients and sending it to Dunedin, let’s take a small car and fill it up with dental students and teachers and send it to Invercargill”.

Mr Tirikatene says he encourages the Southland DHB to think seriously of establishing a low-cost dental clinic for the poor and low waged.

Ends

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand Labour Party on InfoPages.