AHMC Communique includes Oral Health

The Australian Health Ministers Conference (AHMC) met in Brisbane yesterday to discuss a range of priority health issues including Remote Area Renal Services, National Health Call Centres, Pandemic Influenza, Childhood Obesity, Quality and Safety, and various Health Workforce issues.

The Conference Communique highlights the Ministers' agreement that "recruitment and retention of the oral health workforce continues to be problematic especially in regional and rural areas. State and Territory Ministers agreed to request the Australian Government to introduce a range of initiatives including:

• Identifying if the requirement of 300 additional graduates will be achieved by January 2007 as outlined in the National Oral Health Plan.
• Ensuring that 90 per cent of fee paying students are domestic
• Extending scholarships and cadetships for oral health practitioners and introducing bonded dental places of areas of workforce shortage."