New Dental Training Programme Will Improve Access In Rural Areas
A new dental training programme will improve access to dental care in rural areas in Australia.
Health minister Tanya Plibersek said that the new $88.3 million graduate training programme will increase access to dental services in remote areas of the country. The federal training programme will place 46 graduate dentists at public dental clinics across the country to try and improve access in underserved areas.
Plibersek told reporters that there were some areas in Australia where there are no dentists, which means that patients have to travel long distances and join lengthy waiting lists to see a dentist.
The programme will launch on January 21st and 46 graduates will be placed at 31 dental services across the country. Twenty five graduates will be located in metropolitan areas, 16 will work in regional areas and 5 will be placed in remote areas.
Ms Plibersek said that the programme would benefit graduates, as well as patients, as the experience will enable them to further develop their skills and hone their chair-side manner. The scheme provides on the job training, which equips new dentists with the demands of life as a fully qualified dentist.
The government hopes to place 100 new graduates into the programme every year until 2016.
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