Media Release
Curtis Pitt MP.
Shadow Treasurer
8th February, 2014
The future funding model for JCU Dental School to perform its
vital role in training future dentists is still no clearer than it was
yesterday. The letter to JCU about funding from the state government
says funding will cease and as acknowledged by Ian Wronski, the letter
had led to confusion and “…could have been interpreted in many ways.”
Despite claims of ‘scaremongering’ by government MPs, if the Opposition had not raised this issue, there would be no public awareness that the current funding arrangements were ending and there may be significant changes to the way public oral health services are delivered in our region.
The Newman Government is notorious for attacking frontline services; its plans to Americanise our health system; and its secrecy. It’s no wonder there are very legitimate concerns when they all collide as they have in this case. We need answers not spin.
As indicated by the Cairns Post, JCU would have received a $3.5 million grant annually from the State Government but the conditions surrounding funding are now in limbo. Nobody has ever suggested that JCU Dental School would close down.
The response from a ‘spokesperson’ for the Health Minister to legitimate Opposition concerns raises more questions than it answers.
If a new model of funding is contemplated then we need to know what it is and what it means for the Dental School as well as the impacts it will have on regional and rural communities across our state given the significant training role played by the JCU Dental School.
If an incentive-based funding scheme is to be introduced, it will fit neatly with the LNP Government’s ‘contestability’ (read: privatisation) approach which it is relentlessly pushing throughout our public health and hospital system.
That raises questions about accessibility to dental services for low-income earners. It also does not answer the need to ensure funds are maintained for training dental students.
I’ve been informed that Queensland Health director-general Ian Maynard recently met with the heads of all three dental schools in Queensland (JCU, UQ and Griffith) and stressed that funding would only continue if performance indicators related to occasions of service (treatments) were met. My experience with JCU tells me they would deliver well in this area but other universities may not.
The big issue though is the ‘occasions of service’ focus, not a ‘teaching’ focus. There has been no commitment that the funding for the education and training component is there, nor whether learning outcomes will suffer because of the KPI approach, not a teaching approach.
When it comes to medical students, around 60% are international students who upon graduating either return home to their own country or will most likely have a preference to work in a capital city only. I understand that the percentage of international students is even higher in dental.
That’s what makes JCU Dental School so important. It plays a major role in recruiting dental students from rural and regional Queensland who then return to their communities to work. Other university-based dental schools do not have such a heavy focus on rural and regional services where it is always difficult to secure and retain dentists.
When Health Minister Lawrence Springborg returns to work, he needs to provide full disclosure on how these changes may impact on JCU and other university dental schools. People deserve much clearer answers than what we have been given so far.
Despite claims of ‘scaremongering’ by government MPs, if the Opposition had not raised this issue, there would be no public awareness that the current funding arrangements were ending and there may be significant changes to the way public oral health services are delivered in our region.
The Newman Government is notorious for attacking frontline services; its plans to Americanise our health system; and its secrecy. It’s no wonder there are very legitimate concerns when they all collide as they have in this case. We need answers not spin.
As indicated by the Cairns Post, JCU would have received a $3.5 million grant annually from the State Government but the conditions surrounding funding are now in limbo. Nobody has ever suggested that JCU Dental School would close down.
The response from a ‘spokesperson’ for the Health Minister to legitimate Opposition concerns raises more questions than it answers.
If a new model of funding is contemplated then we need to know what it is and what it means for the Dental School as well as the impacts it will have on regional and rural communities across our state given the significant training role played by the JCU Dental School.
If an incentive-based funding scheme is to be introduced, it will fit neatly with the LNP Government’s ‘contestability’ (read: privatisation) approach which it is relentlessly pushing throughout our public health and hospital system.
That raises questions about accessibility to dental services for low-income earners. It also does not answer the need to ensure funds are maintained for training dental students.
I’ve been informed that Queensland Health director-general Ian Maynard recently met with the heads of all three dental schools in Queensland (JCU, UQ and Griffith) and stressed that funding would only continue if performance indicators related to occasions of service (treatments) were met. My experience with JCU tells me they would deliver well in this area but other universities may not.
The big issue though is the ‘occasions of service’ focus, not a ‘teaching’ focus. There has been no commitment that the funding for the education and training component is there, nor whether learning outcomes will suffer because of the KPI approach, not a teaching approach.
When it comes to medical students, around 60% are international students who upon graduating either return home to their own country or will most likely have a preference to work in a capital city only. I understand that the percentage of international students is even higher in dental.
That’s what makes JCU Dental School so important. It plays a major role in recruiting dental students from rural and regional Queensland who then return to their communities to work. Other university-based dental schools do not have such a heavy focus on rural and regional services where it is always difficult to secure and retain dentists.
When Health Minister Lawrence Springborg returns to work, he needs to provide full disclosure on how these changes may impact on JCU and other university dental schools. People deserve much clearer answers than what we have been given so far.
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