Thursday, July 03, 2014

ADA testify on dental workforce oversupply and risk of reduced focus on preventive oral health initiatives

The ADA Inc. has stated at the Senate Committee Community Affairs Inquiry into the abolition of Health Workforce Australia (HWA) and the Australian National Preventive Health Agency (ANPHA) that action must be taken to address the oversupply of the dental workforce.

Dr Carmelo Bonanno, Vice-President of the ADA gave evidence at the Inquiry and stated in a media release that, “Any change in bureaucratic arrangements must ensure that the good work done by these agencies is not lost. HWA’s comprehensive in-depth review of the oral health workforce – ‘Health Workforce 2025 – Oral Health’, is already complete, yet has not been published. Its findings confirm what we already know – that there is an oversupply of the dental workforce that will continue until 2025.”

The ADA also provided evidence in relation to the findings on chronic disease as outlined in the AIHW’s report, Australia’s Health 2014, and urged the Government to ensure the work and investment made by ANPHA in preventive health initiatives were not wasted.