Dental Clinic Forced to Close after Vandalism
Health officials in Bridgewater, Tasmania, have been forced to close a dental clinic, after bouts of vandalism and anti-social behaviour.
In recent weeks, staff at the Bridgewater Children’s Dental Clinic, have been subjected to abuse and harassment and officials had no choice but to close the clinic amidst fears for the safety of both patients and staff.
The clinic, which is managed by Health and Wellbeing Services, closed on Wednesday. Director Gail Ward said that she hopes it will be possible to provide services for children in Hobart in the future, without the worry of abuse or anti-social behaviour.
Ms Ward said that rocks had been thrown at the premises, which threatened the safety of young patients and members of staff. Wet toilet paper had also been thrown at staff and they were beginning to dread going to work.
Brighton Mayor, Tony Foster, said that he was extremely shocked to hear of the closure due to vandalism and cursed the irresponsible actions of the people involved. He was also shocked because he had not heard anything about crime or anti-social behaviour and believed that he should have been notified about the problems before officials took the decision to close the clinic.
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