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Tuesday 8 October 2024
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Boy saved at beach A RELAXING day at Frankston Beach on Christmas Day 2022 nearly took a turn for the worse. A sevenyear-old boy was pulled from the water, and only survived thanks to the heroic efforts of retired police officer Paul Weller (pictured left with Victoria Police chief commissioner Shane Patton). Weller has received an award for the act. See story page 3. Picture: Parade Pics
Dental work wait drags on Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au A MAN living with an intellectual disability has spent years waiting for a dental appointment, with no end in sight. Allan* and his 47-year-old son first visited Frankston Hospital nearly five years ago to treat dental issues. They were referred to Carlton Dental Hospital, where their years of frustration began.
Allan says his son, who has a cavity and teeth pushing against each other, was told he faces a three-year wait from treatment. “He was referred to Carlton Dental Hospital, where we waited two years for a response. Then we spent a day up there waiting for them, and they did a full exam with x-rays. The dentist said he needs work done fairly quickly, but he has special needs and needs to be anes-
thetised. At the special needs department they said it’s a three year wait for treatment,” he said. “Nine months later we got a letter from [Monash] Clayton Hospital for an appointment about his dental work. They spent half a day with him and said you’ll have to wait two years for treatment. 12 months later we got a letter from Dandenong Hospital that said it would be a two year wait as well.” Allan’s son has still not received the
treatment he needs. “He’s still waiting - he’s got a hole in the tooth, and some of his teeth are pushing,” Allan said. “He has an overbite and it impacts his eating.” A $1.1 billion redevelopment of Frankston Hospital is well underway. Allan says that the exclusion of dental services from the redevelopment means that people like his son will continue to fall through the cracks.
“When they did new extensions of Frankston Hospital, something like this wasn’t included,” he said. “We still have not got a response from the Health Department. My son has an intellectual disability - with his emotional and mental state, they need to have someone to handle that. The dental section can handle children but not adults. This system really needs to be looked at.” Continued page 5