MORE Aboriginal people will be trained to work as dentists in regional communities across NSW under an initiative launched on Tuesday at Armujan Aboriginal Health Service, by the Minister for Healthy Lifestyles Kevin Humphries and Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall.
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The local health service is hosting the pilot program that the government plans to roll out across the state.
Mr Marshall said the initiative was the result of a partnership between the state government, the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and the Rotary Club of Sydney.
“The NSW government has matched the funds raised by Rotary Sydney and will commit $200,000 to the Indigenous Oral Health scholarships over the next two years,” Mr Marshall said.
“By ensuring more Aboriginal oral health professionals are working in Aboriginal comm-unities across the state, the NSW government has demonstrated its commitment to closing the gap in health outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.”
Mr Humphries said the Aboriginal Oral Health Scholarships would provide financial assistance to at least 24 Aboriginal people living in regional and rural areas of NSW to train in oral healthcare.
“The new scholarships will ensure a significant number of Aboriginal people will be trained to deliver oral health services in the communities in which they live, as well as provide employment opportunities for Aboriginal people in regional and remote communities,” he said.
“Not only will this initiative provide training for a large number of Aboriginal people to become qualified dental assistants, it will also provide the opportunity for them to pursue further studies in oral health therapy or dentistry.
“The most effective way to improve the oral health of Aboriginal people is by increasing the number of Aboriginal oral health clinicians working on the ground in Aboriginal communities.
“By doing that through these scholarships we will see start to see a genuine improvement in dental health outcomes in our Aboriginal communities.”
