School dental visits rare as hens’ teeth for Murchison students as Opposition calls for urgent action

Schoolchildren living in the Murchison towns of Yalgoo, Mt Magnet, Meekatharra and Cue have now gone two years without a visit from the school dental van. Meanwhile, the State Government has confirmed a new van to service the dental needs of the region’s children is nearing completion, but has been delayed due to a manufacturing fault. Nationals WA leader and Mid West MLA Shane Love said there might be Murchison children as old as seven who have never seen a dentist. “These towns are remote, up to 420km from Geraldton and families simply do not have alternative access to dental care,” he said. This has left families across the Murchison without access to vital oral health care, particularly damaging, considering the region is already facing unique health disadvantages. “Without this service, children in the Murchison are being left behind and placed at greater risk of serious health problems later in life,” Mr Love said. Earlier this year former Liberal Member for the then-seat of North West Central Merome Beard posed with the old dental van, labelling it unfit for purpose. The fit out of the van is nearing completion, according to Health Minister Meredith Hammat, who anticipated the new van would be operational by now, however a manufacturing fault was identified during the fit out. “The new van includes special features to support patients with mobility difficulties, as well as supporting high infection prevention and control standards,” she said. “It will complement the fixed dental clinic at Meekatharra Hospital and when it’s completed and staffed, will ensure that residents in the Murchison region who can’t travel, have access to high quality dental care through the mobile service.” Mr Love said, “Our children’s health cannot wait” and called on the State Government to immediately deploy a van, guaranteeing that students would not miss dental care for another year.