Fluoridation Questions and Answers
Date: 29-Jun-2017
Last week, qldwater contacted each council in Queensland impacted by fluoridation legislation giving them an opportunity to raise questions around the recent changes, as Queensland Health had agreed to provide responses. This compiled list of questions was reviewed by our technical reference group on Friday before submitting to QH.
The responses are now available here. Queensland Health is also sending letters to each council directly today. Most issues should now be explained, noting that there are still guidelines under development for reimbursements of costs where councils choose not to fluoridate, and there are no announcements of financial assistance for operations and maintenance costs in small communities where councils elect to proceed (which qldwater was advocating strongly prior to the recent changes)
It appears that there will be a lot of resources wasted through the fluoridation program, irrespective of the remaining choices made. qldwater believes that there is a public health benefit to be gained from fluoridation in many communities however this clearly must be balanced against often considerable costs, community wishes and an environment of inconsistent and unpredictable decision-making.
It is important for members to consider the strategic opportunity of implementing fluoridation or continuing to dose in existing schemes as it is extremely unlikely that State financial support for such a program will exist in future. We will provide information to any member requesting it to assist in councils’ decision making processes.
Please keep qldwater informed of your intentions so that we may look at possible opportunities around the disposal of chemicals, plant and equipment amongst members.
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