❓ Question on Notice regarding WA government dental services, including wait times, waitlists, and referrals to private providers. The response provides detailed data on these aspects, revealing significant wait times and the ongoing practice of referring patients to private providers.
AnsweredQoN 5164Legislative Assembly
Asked
9 May 2019
Member
Portfolio
Deputy Premier; Minister for Health; Mental Health
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to government dental services provided by the WA Department of Health, and I ask, for all health service providers: (a) Does any government dental clinic only provide dental treatment for emergency patients: (i) If yes to (a), which clinic and for what dates has this been in effect; (b) What is the average wait time for patients to be seen at a government dental clinic, by health service provider; (c) What is the average wait time for patients to be seen at a government dental clinic, by clinic; (d) What was the average wait time for a patient to be seen at the Warwick Government Dental Clinic as at: (i) 1 April 2017; (ii) 1 April 2018; and (iii) 1 April 2019; (e) How many people are on the wait list for dental treatment at a government dental clinic, by health service provider; (f) How many people are on the wait list for dental treatment at a government dental clinic, by clinic; (g) How many people were on the wait list to be seen at the Warwick Government Dental Clinic as at: (i) 1 April 2017; (ii) 1 April 2018; and (iii) 1 April 2019; and (h) Has the Department of Health ever had a policy in place in which it refers patients seeking dental treatment to private providers when its public clinics are fully booked: (i) If yes to (h), is this practice still in place: (A) If no to (i), when and why did this practice stop; and (ii) If yes to (h), how many patients were referred to private providers in 2016, 2017, 2018 and to 31 March 2019?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
12 June 2019
Response time
8 days
(a) No.
(i) Not applicable.
(b) At 30 April 2019, the average wait time for non-urgent general dental care at Dental Health Service (DHS) dental clinics was 8.3 months.
(c) At 30 April 2019, the average wait time for non-urgent general dental care at each DHS public dental clinic is as follows:
DHS Clinic Name
Average Wait
Albany Clinic
10.5 months
Armadale Dental Clinic
12.4 months
Broome Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Bunbury Dental Clinic
8.6 months
Busselton Dental Clinic
4.5 months
Carnarvon Dental Clinic
16.7 months
Cockburn Dental Clinic
6.3 months
Derby Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Domiciliary Dental Clinic
1.0 months
Exmouth Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Fitzroy Crossing Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Fremantle Dental Clinic
10.7 months
Geraldton Dental Clinic
5.0 months
Goldfields Dental Clinic
7.2 months
Hedland Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Joondalup Dental Clinic
7.2 months
Kununurra Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Liddell Dental Clinic
11.8 months
Meekatharra Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Morley Dental Clinic
8.3 months
Mt Henry Dental Clinic
3.2 months
Newman Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Ravensthorpe Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Rockingham Dental Clinic
12.7 months
Special Needs Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Swan Dental Clinic
9.7 months
Warwick Dental Clinic
17.6 months
(d) (i) 3.3 months.
(ii) 6.0 months.
(iii) 18.3 months.
(e) At 30 April 2019, 15,772 people were on a DHS dental clinic wait list for non-urgent general dental care. DHS is a state-wide health service under the governance of the North Metropolitan Health Service. DHS maintains waitlist information at a state-wide level and at individual dental clinic level. DHS do not maintain waitlist information for individual health service providers.
(f) At 30 April 2019, the number of people on a DHS dental clinic wait list, by clinic is as follows:
DHS Clinic Name
Number of People
Albany Clinic
673
Armadale Dental Clinic
2122
Broome Dental Clinic
2
Bunbury Dental Clinic
1128
Busselton Dental Clinic
239
Carnarvon Dental Clinic
79
Cockburn Dental Clinic
608
Derby Dental Clinic
2
Domiciliary Dental Clinic
95
Exmouth Dental Clinic
0
Fitzroy Crossing Dental Clinic
0
Fremantle Dental Clinic
540
Geraldton Dental Clinic
270
Goldfields Dental Clinic
234
Hedland Dental Clinic
0
Joondalup Dental Clinic
1354
Kununurra Dental Clinic
0
Liddell Dental Clinic
1354
Meekatharra Dental Clinic
0
Morley Dental Clinic
1601
Mt Henry Dental Clinic
183
Newman Dental Clinic
0
Ravensthorpe Dental Clinic
18
Rockingham Dental Clinic
1823
Special Needs Dental Clinic
16
Swan Dental Clinic
1095
Warwick Dental Clinic
2286
(g) (i) 966.
(ii) 1073.
(iii) 2149.
(h) Yes.
(i) Yes.
(ii) Patients referred to private providers for subsidised care from DHS dental clinics:
2016 – 5,827.
2017 – 5,612.
2018 – 5,443.
2019 (as at 31 March 2019) – 1,438.
(i) Not applicable.
(b) At 30 April 2019, the average wait time for non-urgent general dental care at Dental Health Service (DHS) dental clinics was 8.3 months.
(c) At 30 April 2019, the average wait time for non-urgent general dental care at each DHS public dental clinic is as follows:
DHS Clinic Name
Average Wait
Albany Clinic
10.5 months
Armadale Dental Clinic
12.4 months
Broome Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Bunbury Dental Clinic
8.6 months
Busselton Dental Clinic
4.5 months
Carnarvon Dental Clinic
16.7 months
Cockburn Dental Clinic
6.3 months
Derby Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Domiciliary Dental Clinic
1.0 months
Exmouth Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Fitzroy Crossing Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Fremantle Dental Clinic
10.7 months
Geraldton Dental Clinic
5.0 months
Goldfields Dental Clinic
7.2 months
Hedland Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Joondalup Dental Clinic
7.2 months
Kununurra Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Liddell Dental Clinic
11.8 months
Meekatharra Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Morley Dental Clinic
8.3 months
Mt Henry Dental Clinic
3.2 months
Newman Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Ravensthorpe Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Rockingham Dental Clinic
12.7 months
Special Needs Dental Clinic
0.0 months
Swan Dental Clinic
9.7 months
Warwick Dental Clinic
17.6 months
(d) (i) 3.3 months.
(ii) 6.0 months.
(iii) 18.3 months.
(e) At 30 April 2019, 15,772 people were on a DHS dental clinic wait list for non-urgent general dental care. DHS is a state-wide health service under the governance of the North Metropolitan Health Service. DHS maintains waitlist information at a state-wide level and at individual dental clinic level. DHS do not maintain waitlist information for individual health service providers.
(f) At 30 April 2019, the number of people on a DHS dental clinic wait list, by clinic is as follows:
DHS Clinic Name
Number of People
Albany Clinic
673
Armadale Dental Clinic
2122
Broome Dental Clinic
2
Bunbury Dental Clinic
1128
Busselton Dental Clinic
239
Carnarvon Dental Clinic
79
Cockburn Dental Clinic
608
Derby Dental Clinic
2
Domiciliary Dental Clinic
95
Exmouth Dental Clinic
0
Fitzroy Crossing Dental Clinic
0
Fremantle Dental Clinic
540
Geraldton Dental Clinic
270
Goldfields Dental Clinic
234
Hedland Dental Clinic
0
Joondalup Dental Clinic
1354
Kununurra Dental Clinic
0
Liddell Dental Clinic
1354
Meekatharra Dental Clinic
0
Morley Dental Clinic
1601
Mt Henry Dental Clinic
183
Newman Dental Clinic
0
Ravensthorpe Dental Clinic
18
Rockingham Dental Clinic
1823
Special Needs Dental Clinic
16
Swan Dental Clinic
1095
Warwick Dental Clinic
2286
(g) (i) 966.
(ii) 1073.
(iii) 2149.
(h) Yes.
(i) Yes.
(ii) Patients referred to private providers for subsidised care from DHS dental clinics:
2016 – 5,827.
2017 – 5,612.
2018 – 5,443.
2019 (as at 31 March 2019) – 1,438.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.