Plans To Open New Dental School In Adelaide Deferred
Plans to open a new dental school in Adelaide have been deferred, it has been announced.
Proposals to open a new dental school at the Royal Adelaide Hospital have been scrapped and it has also been confirmed that services at the Adelaide Dental Hospital are going to be reduced as a result of budget cuts.
The decisions have been taken by the State Government in a bid to cut costs in the heath department; however, they have been met with anger and concern by health professionals. Dentists have warned that there will be a shortage of dental students in the area, as well as problems with access to affordable dental care.
Dr Jack Gaffey, president of the South Australia branch of the Australian Dental Association, said that he was assured by the university’s executive dean, Professor Justin Beilby, that the move would go ahead and the dental school would open at the Royal Adelaide Hospital along with the schools of medicine and nursing.
Dr Gaffey said that he was disappointed by the university’s decision to prioritise the schools of nursing and medicine over dentistry and added that the move would jeopardise the future of dental education in South Australia. He described the move as “disastrous” and said that it contribute to a shortage of dental students in the state in the future, which will undoubtedly have an impact on dental services in and around Adelaide.
David Swan, chief executive of the South Australia Health Department, said that there was no funding available to pay for the move and added that no final decision had been made about downsizing the dental hospital.
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