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Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kenneth George.

Health Ministry experiencing difficulty in providing dental services

THE Ministry of Health and Wellness has been finding it difficult to provide comprehensive dental services for Barbadians, given that most dentists seem to favour private practice.

Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kenneth George, spoke to the issue, as Member of Parliament for St. John, Charles Griffith, raised questions in relation to the services being offered to residents of St. John, via the polyclinic there. Two spaces have been allocated for the dental department at the polyclinic, but at this point none are actually working, Griffith said.

“The issue of providing comprehensive dental services for all Barbadians remains difficult for the Ministry of Health. What we have tried to do is to maintain a national service. We have consolidated our dental teams and our dental programmes to specific polyclinics, based on a reflection that our human resources are not optimal at this time,” Dr. George said in response.

He however stated, “We will endeavour to review our systems. We are aware that there is hardware there at the David Thompson Health and Social Services Complex with respect to dental services and the equipment that is there and what we will do, we will undertake again to review and see how we can provide a service. I won’t be able to guarantee a daily service, but certainly a service that will be helpful to the people of St. John.”

With reference to a question posed by Chairman of Committees and Member of Parliament for St. Philip North, Dr. Sonia Browne, as to whether some private dentists can provide pro bono services, Dr. George revealed that this approach is being explored.

“So these matters are being explored. There are a few dentists that have indicated their willingness to work in the government sector. Please note that dentistry in Barbados is very private sector driven. We only have about three to four per cent of dentists within the entire Barbados service, in the public sector. They seem to be drawn to the private sector. However, there have been a few that have indicated their willingness to work with us, and I’m sure that we can have a service in short order for the people of St. John,” the Chief Medical Officer commented. (RSM)

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