WESTERN suburbs politicians are trading barbs over the future of dental services at Footscray’s Western Region Health Centre.
The Weekly last week reported that Greens MP Colleen Hartland will implore the need for action to prevent the clinic closing.
But Liberal MP Andrew Elsbury said Ms Hartland needed to outline what exactly she wanted the government to fund. “Ms Hartland continues demanding ‘something’ to be done but doesn’t seem to know what that ‘something’ is.”
Mr Elsbury, who chaired a taskforce investigating the health centre’s problems, said it was hypocritical for Labor and the Greens to call for action “while they sat idle for 11 years”. “The dental clinic can’t be fixed by rhetoric,” he said. “What’s needed is sound planning and a business case to support the great work being done by the staff at Western Region Health.”
But Ms Hartland said there was a redevelopment plan ready to begin. “All that is needed is the Baillieu government to commit a moderate $9million to rebuild the clinic and continue to provide quality dental health services in the west,” she said.
“Mr Elsbury and the Baillieu government have failed to invest in dental health and Victoria’s projected dental waiting list times are set to explode, increasing 30per cent in one year to an average of 22 months.”
