Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad has announced that there are no intentions to expand the Dental Care Programme within the Private Public Partnership Health Care Scheme to the Northern, Western, and Eastern Divisions.
Speaking in Parliament this week, Prasad responded to a query from independent member Penioni Ravunawa. He explained that the initiative was initially implemented as a COVID-19 response, noting that it was a necessary measure due to the challenges hospitals faced in providing adequate services at the time.
According to Prasad, the scheme enabled General Practitioners (GPs) to treat patients while the government covered the associated costs. He stated that the scheme is still active and some dental GPs are currently offering services in Suva.
He further elaborated that once such a programme is initiated, the need for expansion tends to be perpetual. He acknowledged that many individuals, who could access basic health services at health centres, opted instead to visit private GPs, resulting in increased costs for the government after the pandemic.
In the 2023-2024 Budget, the Coalition Government introduced a means test, allowing those on social welfare to continue utilizing the GP Scheme while urging those capable of using public health facilities to do so, particularly at local health centres.
Prasad also drew parallels to the financial model of the Aspen Medical PPP, stating that proper demand assessments were overlooked when the scheme was first launched, leading to ongoing cost escalations and increased demand. He emphasized that many who could have visited health centres were instead going to public hospitals at government expense, despite the availability of similar services at health centres.