IF nothing else lifted my heart this week (and generally lots of things lift my heart in the Falklands) the sight of the words ‘orthodontic service’ had me dancing a jig.

You see if I had a list of professionals that I particularly (but not exclusively) admire it would go something like this: Doctors, Pharmacists, Dentists, Physiotherapists – but of course that order is interchangeable and depends on which profession I need to fix me at any given time – and man I seem to need an awful lot of fixing for someone small enough to be zipped into a cabin-bag for a bet. So my point is pop an Orthodontist into that hand and my mind sees Royal Flush.

Dentists in the Falklands have battled for years to support residents providing the best care they possibly can and I absolutely salute them for holding us together. But it has been a battle. In my case I have been able to make the choice to travel to Chile to seek further professional help when required; others for various reasons have either not been able to – young people who need ongoing work and older people who find that kind of travel intimidating and exhausting. Not to mention the cost; courtesy of my dental care I’ve had to put off much needed house renovations for quite some years.

The thought of being able to have advanced dental work at home in the Falklands will bring enormous relief to so many people of all ages. We were quite taken aback when we read statistics taken from report that showed 60.3% of the 12-16 year old population of the Falklands would require orthodontic treatment. Not surprisingly the initial focus of the department when it is eventually established will be school children. Money well spent I feel.

NOW I’m not sure if the government is going to bother to listen this time but around 70% of the camp didn’t want a single constituency. And under the mandate Stanley didn’t support it either – I mean democratically speaking that’s pretty damn clear.
You did understand that didn’t you government?
Government?
(Curtain down)…
(Curtain up on new government announcing fourth referendum)