Dental Waiting Times Grants Program 2008-2009

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Overview

In November 2007, the Primary Health Branch, in partnership with Dental Health Services Victoria, called for submissions from community health services, hospitals and primary care partnerships (under a Partnerships category) for funding under the Dental Waiting Times Grants Program 2008-2009.

Under the grants program, the Primary Health Branch sought innovative proposals to reduce and smooth dental waiting lists for general and denture care. The intention was not to invest additional funds into dental service provision. Rather, the grants program aims to foster the local implementation of system changes, or the extension of existing system change innovations and practices, to meaningfully reduce dental waiting times at an agency and/or catchment level.

In June 2008, the Minister for Health, the Hon Daniel Andrews MP, endorsed four proposals submitted under the Dental Waiting Times Grants Program 2008-09.

Knox Community Health Service
Through the partnership of public oral heath providers in the Outer East, this project will merge waiting lists, including referral processes and systems, to create a single point of entry to public dental health. This will allow the better utilisation of dental workforce in the scope of practice, resulting in tighter management in the course of care and increased throughput.

Gippsland Dental Health Services Task Group
This whole-of-region project proposes a coordinated approach to workforce sourcing and delivery which includes the identification and implementation of innovative, web-based resource management software program designed to offer dental professionals, dental practices – private and public – and graduates, access to flexible options of employment, while at the same time providing service providers a simple interface to log their needs for labour.

Southern Health
This project proposes to utilise specific methodology (Advanced Access) to facilitate an understanding of demand levels and patterns to inform strategies aimed at improving the match between capacity and demand for dental services.

Originating from the UK, Advanced Access is a method of improving access for clients so they can see a clinician at a time and date convenient to them. It is also about enabling clinicians and managers gain a better understanding of the demand, and in that process gain greater control of how they manage and deliver care.

Western Region Health Centre
This project proposes to:

• Integrate a dental 'point of entry' with the service’s central intake function to align integrated oral health service with the service coordination model.
• Implement and evaluate a Client Waitlist Transfer Strategy.
• Implement and evaluate a Preferred Private Practitioner Partnership Model.
• Undertake a feasibility study to redefine the 'waiting' list and model impact on waiting times.

Contact

For further information on the Dental Waiting Times Grants Program 2008-2009 contact:

Anna Nowland
Senior Policy Officer
Primary Health Programs
Department of Human Services
Level 12, 50 Lonsdale St, Melbourne 3000
Telephone: (61 3) 9096 8813
Email: anna.nowland@dhs.vic.gov.au

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