Bay dental clinics for chop

By JO-MARIE BROWN
Almost two-thirds of Western Bay school dental clinics are earmarked to close under a $1.6 million draft plan to improve dental services across the region.
A preliminary review by the Community Dental Service suggests eight new mobile dental clinics should be built instead to cater for the 11,500 children who attend those schools and others in the Eastern Bay.
The proposal - which school boards of trustees and principals were yet to be officially told about - said 31 existing school clinics in the Bay of Plenty should close because they required extensive upgrades and were not always open. Fifteen of those schools were in the Western Bay.
The 12 school clinics that would be retained - eight in the Western Bay - had been singled out for renovations based on their location and size.
Schools spoken to by the Bay of Plenty Times welcomed the idea, saying the existing set-up was ineffective.
Merivale School principal Delcie Martin said the idea was a sensible and logical.
"Sadly, the current service is totally inadequate in my opinion. Children need to be seen more than once a year."
Dental therapist Minnie McGibbon looked after Merivale and four other schools on behalf of Maori health provider Te Manu Toroa.
She too applauded the idea, saying the three mobile clinics which already operated in the Western Bay were much more convenient and cost-effective.
"You don't have to physically pack and unpack gear every time you change schools. You also have another therapist working alongside you in a mobile clinic which was a bonus in terms of professional development."
Many school clinics were run-down and children felt more comfortable in the modern mobile units, Mrs McGibbon said.
"The equipment is excellent and they are ergonomically designed. The mobile unit is the way to go."
Brookfield Primary School principal Anton Prinsloo said as long as the mobile clinics saw children at least once a year, he would also be happy with the proposal.
The school's clinic was used as teaching space when the dental therapist was visiting other schools and it would be converted permanently if the clinic was disbanded.
While the exact cost for upgrading each clinic would differ between schools, the Community Dental Service estimated the total cost at $360,000. A further $1.3 million would be required to build the eight new mobile units.
The review was to be presented at today's Bay of Plenty District Health Board meeting in Whakatane by Dr Sharon Kletchko, director of planning and service development.
Dr Kletchko said the Ministry of Health asked all health boards to review oral health facilities last year.
Recommendations for the Bay aimed to improve care and use dental staff better.
The plan - which was part of a wider Bay oral health strategy - was still in its early stages and individual schools would be consulted over the next year.
"It's true consultation. We will say what we have found, this is what we're hoping to do and asking if they have any concerns. It's about listening. You can't pre-suppose what people will say," Dr Kletchko said. Funding was another issue that would have to be sorted out in the next financial year to see whether buying eight new mobile clinics was feasible.
"The planning to do this will be quite extensive. There are a lot of issues that need to be discussed and considered."
Dr Kletchko hoped the facility re-jig would be completed in the next two to three years.