2. SUE MORONEY (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What progress has been made in work to improve the oral health of New Zealanders?
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health) Link to this
Last week the Government announced that over $100 million will be invested in a major reform of our public oral health system. The policy includes the revitalisation of the school dental service, and provision of community oral health facilities.
Has the Minister received any reports about the public discussion on the Government’s oral health policy?
I have seen reports that members of the oral health community have been angered by comments from Tony Ryall about the Government’s plan and National’s record on the issue. I have a copy of a letter sent to Mr Ryall from a registered dental therapist reminding him that it was National that foolishly made hundreds of dental nurses redundant, that it was National that nearly destroyed the school dental service, that it was National that closed down dental therapist training, and that it was Labour that moved early in its first term to start repairing the damage.
Barbara StewartHow long does the Minister estimate it will take to fully implement the strategic vision for oral health in New Zealand, and what dental care is accessible to children and teenagers who are missing out in the meantime?
I hope the member enjoyed her briefing on the topic this morning. It will, of course, take a number of years to fulfil a strategy as broad as this. However, we are off to an early start; the first business cases will be coming in from district health boards in November of this year.
Hone HarawiraTēnā koe, Madam Speaker. Why does the Government’s press release of 20 August hold National responsible for the worst oral health records for 5-year-olds in Northland since 1990, when today’s 5-year-olds have only ever lived under a Labour minority Government in charge of their dental health; and what will he do about the tragic statistics for Māori 5-year-olds in Northland today—only 14 percent of whom are cavity-free?
My predecessor, the Hon Annette King, herself a dental therapist, had restarted a dental therapy school in New Zealand, had staffed it, had the curriculum up, had the funding, and had students in the classroom within 15 months of a change of Government. That is what rapid repair looks like. She then opened a second school, not in Dunedin but in Auckland. Both those schools are now churning out graduates. Finally, we have started to lift the number of dental therapists in this country. It had fallen from 1,000 to 550, and now that we are repairing the damage wrought by National we are building dental facilities so that these new dental therapists can go to work.
Gordon CopelandCan the Sisters of Compassion, who generously fund a dental clinic for children in the Hutt, expect any Government support any time soon from these initiatives—indeed, from any of the $100 million tag for oral health—giving some help to those who unselfishly help others?
I am afraid I do not know, but I can say that if they are an integral part of the local district health board’s dental health services, they will already be receiving funding.
Hon Tony RyallIs the Minister standing up in the House today and saying that it will take another couple of years to see any progress in the improving of oral health for young New Zealanders, considering in the last 7 years of the Labour Government there have been one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, and 11 strategies, visions, and reviews, which this Government has done absolutely nothing on?
I now get a chance to rehearse the history again, and I will enjoy it. The long and short of it is that there used to be more than a thousand dental therapists in this country, but they got the sack from the previous Government. People stopped going to dental training schools. The schools closed and we ended up with an implosion in the workforce. That needed fixing, and one cannot teach a dental therapist in 3 weeks; it takes 3 years. One cannot open a dental therapy school in 3 weeks; that took 15 months. If the National Government had only kept the dental therapy workforce up—if only it had done that—none of those reports would have needed to be written.
Madam SPEAKERI seek leave to table the Review of Publicly Funded Oral Health Care in New Zealand: Final Report, March 2001.
I seek leave to table Improving Child Oral Health and Reducing Child Oral Health Inequalities, May 2003.
I seek leave to table the Dental Therapy Technical Advisory Group, Ministry of Health, Recruitment and Practice of Dental Therapists, June 2004.
I seek leave to table the Business Case Guidelines for Investment in Child and Adolescent Oral Health Services.
There will be silence during points of order. During the last point of order, there were interruptions from both sides of the House. You are on your last warning.
I seek leave to table a letter from Barbara Moreton, registered dental therapist, to Tony Ryall, which states, in part: “Annette King put in place some very good long-term planning, which has been carried on by Pete Hodgson. When a service has been badly run down over many years, as it was under National, it cannot be fixed overnight.”
Jo GoodhewUnfortunately the Hon Tony Ryall forgot one. I seek leave to table the 36-page latest strategic vision: Good Oral Health, for All, for Life: the Strategic Vision for Oral Health in New Zealand.