Dentistry service is best kept at community level

It is heartless of the government to dismantle the dentistry service in the public health centres and shift it to Mater Dei Hospital. This is causing undue hardship to families.

The decision remains a mystery. Various studies show that to improve the health service, more should be done at community level and not vice versa.

The importance of a good quality dental service is in the early recognition and interception of disease. Thus, good service requires proper treatment and preventive measures. This can only be achieved through public health service at community level. Many people will end up neglecting their health due to economic factors and because of the inordinately long waiting list to receive treatment at Mater Dei.

In fact, the government’s decision is creating an unnecessary waiting list to the detriment of all those making use of the service, especially vulnerable groups, including pensioners, children and people with a disability. It would be a great service if the Minister for Health, the Elderly and Community Care explained the reason behind this decision. Seven months ago the government stated that this service needed restructuring. To date, this restructuring process has not been carried out.

This is another government myth, as its policies are to dismantle the primary public health service and hand it over to the private sector, thus privatising the public health service.

It’s a shame that the community health service is not being given the right attention, and is being withdrawn, when it is of an essential nature, while on the other hand workers from the health sector are continuously being accused of neglecting patients while obeying a union directive. The minister should restart the dentistry service in the community and stop introducing new measures to shift service into the hands of the private sector.