MP pushes for 24-hour dental emergency units across Kingdom to ease pressure on clinics

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Toothache patients left queuing for hours or facing weeks-long waits are being priced out of treatment, says MP Jalal Kadhem, who wants 24-hour dental emergency units set up across the Kingdom to ease the pressure. Kadhem has called on the Ministry of Health to open round-the-clock dental services in health centres in every governorate.

He said morning clinics are overcrowded, appointments are hard to come by, and patients who cannot afford to wait are being forced into the private sector, where costs can be steep. Dental problems Some dental problems, he said, need dealing with straight away.

Infections and pain do not follow schedules, but public care often does.

By the time an appointment becomes available, many have already paid out of pocket or gone without treatment altogether.

Care

Kadhem believes setting up emergency dental units that stay open through the night would ease the pressure on existing services and give patients another route to care.

He added that the move could also create work for unemployed Bahraini dentists and urged the government to put aside enough money to get the plan running.

The lawmaker pointed to the constitution, which states that healthcare is a right for all citizens and that the government must provide ways to ensure it, including building hospitals and clinics.

Budget talks

He reminded Parliament that during budget talks, he had pressed for more spending on health.

The idea also ties in with measures ordered by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

These include keeping some primary care centres open throughout the night and stretching the working hours of others into the evening.

Kadhem said this is in line with what MPs have been raising for some time, and it should help make services easier to reach while easing the pressure on packed clinics.