Cloncurry residents frustration at lack of full-time dentist

Cloncurry residents miss having a full-time dentist in their community, but the regional health service said it cannot fill the position even with incentives.

Cloncurry has been without a full-time dentist since 2022. The North West Hospital and Health Service is about to start a recruitment round, but in its last round not a single applicant expressed interest in the role. Photo: iStock

The absence of a full-time dentist has frustrated Cloncurry residents who believe the North West town is experiencing “third world service”.

The regional health service is about to start a new round of recruitment, but even with incentive packages has struggled to attract the staff its communities need.

In November last year the North West Hospital and Health Service advertised for a full-time dentist in its recruitment round.

Not a single applicant applied for the role.

While mayor Greg Campbell believed the health service had given up, residents such as John Green said they were frustrated at the absence of a dentist.

Cloncurry Mayor Greg Campbell. Picture: Liam Kidston

The full-time position has been unable to be filled since 2022.

Mr Green said he would either travel to Mount Isa, 120km west, to see a dentist or would wait until a dentist visited, but the waiting list could be lengthy.

“Maybe they are coming down more regularly now, I’ll need to make an appointment,” he said.

“Last time I tried I gave up.”

The mayor Campbell said this is forcing residents to choose between waiting lengthy periods to be seen in Mount Isa 120km to the west, or to travel 800km east to Townsville instead.

According to the North West Hospital and Health Service a dentist does visit Cloncurry three times a week.

Mr Campbell said a full-time dentist in Cloncurry would also draw in health patients from Gulf communities such as Burketown and Normanton, and from McKinlay.

Mr Campbell said these were not issues that the council dealt with directly, but he considered it is his role to advocate for improved health services that his regional community expected.

Many of these health services were based in Mount Isa or through “outreach services”.

“To me quite frankly a lot of them aren’t good enough or aren’t active enough, or there’s plenty of turnover,” he said.

“So the outreach is what suffers.

“Just recently I’ve been told that (dentist) position has been absorbed just into the North West, it doesn’t specifically say Cloncurry anymore.

“It’s a real disservice to the town that the board and the executive of the health district still don’t maintain that position.”

“I acknowledge it probably will be a struggle to fill it but just because it’s tough doesn’t mean we give up on our community.”

North West Hospital and Health Service Acting Chief Executive Ted Chamberlain said the full-time position became vacant two years ago and that it had “proven challenging” to fill it, even with rural incentive packages.

However, we are committed to continued recruitment,” Dr Chamberlain said.

“We are pleased to report that in the last quarter, all patients receiving general dental care at the Mount Isa Hospital Dental Clinic were attended to within the recommended waiting time, reflecting our dedication to efficient and timely healthcare delivery.”

Originally published as Cloncurry residents frustration at lack of full-time dentist