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27 Jun 2005 : Column 1348W—continued
Dentistry
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1)what assessment she has made of the correlation between dental health in five-year-olds and their social-economic grouping, broken down by county in each year since 1997; [4718]
(2) what role fluoridation of water plays in improving dental health; and whether the Government plans to review the level of fluoridation in tap water. [4719]
Ms Rosie Winterton: National dental health surveys are carried out every 10 years; the latest survey is for the year 2003. Results and comparisons with the results of the 1993 survey are available on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website at www.statistics.gov.uk/children/dentalhealth/. Results are not available for areas as small as counties because of the small sample size, but regional results for five-year-old children are given in tables 1.5 and 1.6 for the proportion of children with obvious decay experience and for the mean number of teeth with obvious decay experience.
A separate report on this survey has been prepared on social factors and oral health in children, which analyses the United Kingdom figures. This is also available on the ONS website. The report includes analyses of tooth decay by an assessment of deprivation of the school together with analyses by socio-economic status of the household.
The findings of these surveys confirm that there is a strong correlation between dental disease and social and economic deprivation, which we are addressing in connection with implementation of the Government's commitment to reduce health inequalities. The fluoridation of water offers the best prospect for reducing inequalities in oral health. Changes made in the Water Act 2003 to the legislative framework governing fluoridation have made it a realistic option for strategic health authorities to consider for improving the oral health of their populations.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of dental practices in Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust were able to offer an emergency dental appointment within 24 hours in the latest period for which figures are available. [1637]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Hertfordshire Partnership National Health Service Trust is a mental health trust and therefore does not offer any dental services. The Department collects data about dental practices based on primary care trust areas and does not identify individual dental practices.
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Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria her Department has advised primary care trusts to apply for the approval of growth funding to Personal Dental Service applicants. [3282]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 13 June 2005]: The Department has provided primary care trusts (PCTs) with guidance on the criteria they need to apply in considering proposals for pilot personal dental services (PDS). Guidance has been set out in a step-by-step guide to PDS and augmented with training sessions provided by the Department's national PDS team.
The key elements or criteria of this guidance are:
Each proposal for PDS should be considered in the context of the PCTs assessment of the oral health needs of their population and the level and range of dental services necessary to serve those needs satisfactorily. The assessment of needs and the actions necessary to serve them would usually be set out in the form of a local action plan, agreed with the relevant strategic health authority.
The prime aim of each proposal should be to at least preserve the current level of commitment to the NHS and wherever possible secure additional national health service provision in line with the requirements, which have been identified locally.
The actual level of growth funding appropriate to each PDS application needs to match the NHS provision being proposed and to be affordable within the budget allocated to the PCT for this purpose.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she plans to conduct a new dental clinical academic staff vacancies survey; how much of the funding for dental schools has been allocated for the creation of more clinical academic posts; and what joint action her Department and the Department for Education and Skills are planning concerning recruitment and retention of dental academic staff. [3284]
Ms Rosie Winterton
[holding answer 13 June 2005]: On 6 June the Council of the Heads of Medical Schools and the Council of Heads and Deans of Dental Schools published a joint survey, which shows that there remain vacancies in clinical academic posts. We are embarking upon the biggest programme of investment in dental education since the inception of the national health service. Additional recurring funding rising to £29 million by 2010–11 has been allocated to provide for
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170 additional undergraduate training places from October 2005. The expansion will be supported by new capital investment of £20 million in each of the four years 2005–06 to 2008–09. It will be for the dental schools to decide how to use these funds, but there is no doubt that this additional investment in the dental schools will improve the working environment and career prospects of dental academics.
The joint Department of Health/Department of Education and Skills Strategic Learning and Research Advisory (StLaR) Group for Health and Social Care has overseen production of a human resources plan project for the educator and researcher workforce across all professions in health and social care. A project board has been established which includes representatives of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the university and service sector. The board's remit includes the identification and implementation of measures to improve all aspects of academic careers for medically and dentally-qualified researchers and educationalists.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Polish dentists who have been recruited by (a) primary care trusts and (b) Methods Consulting, have subsequently returned home. [3285]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 13 June 2005]: Based on returns received from strategic health authorities at the end of April, primary care trusts have locally recruited nine dentists from Poland. The Department do not hold figures of the numbers of those dentists who have subsequently returned to Poland.
114 dentists, recruited by Methods Consulting on behalf of the Department, have started work in England. Of these, one has subsequently returned to Poland.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the average income of NHS dentists in London in each year since 1997. [5358]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The average general dental service (GDS) gross fee per dentist in the London area since 1996–97 are shown in the tables.
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Notes:
1.The figures are based on the numbers of dentists with open GDS contract.
2.GDS gross fees cover a dentist's individual earnings as well as their practice expenses.
3.The dentists include principals, assistants and trainees.
4.A dentist will be counted more than once if he/she works in more than one PCT.
5.Prison contracts have not been included in this analysis.
6.In view of the boundary changes from health authorities to PCT's in 2002 the areas have been defined using practice postcodes.
7.The figures provide a snapshot of the number of individual dentists with an open contract at 31 March.
8.A dentist with a GDS contract may provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses.
9.The Dental Practice Board has no information concerning the amount of time dedicated to NHS work by individual dentists.
10. Care should be taken when analysing this data due to dentists changing contracts from GDS to PDS, particularly the later years.
11. The earnings figures are based on whatever the definition of London was at the time, in particular the earlier figures are based on Health Authority boundaries.
12. Dentist numbers are on a headcount basis—no estimate of whole-time equivalent is available.
Old health authorities used to define London
QAP Barking and HaveringQAQ Barnet
QAA Bexley and Greenwich
QAR Brent and Harrow
QAC Bromley
QAT Camden and Islington
QAD Croydon
QAV Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow
QAW East London and The City
QA4 Enfield and Haringey
QA2 Hillingdon
QA3 Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster
QAH Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham
QAG Kingston and Richmond
QAJ Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth
A5 Redbridge and Waltham Forest
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Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of (a) children and (b) adults living in the Portsmouth area are registered with an NHS dentist; and what the figures were in each of the previous four years. [6003]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is as follows:
(34)Residents estimates based on 2001 census.
(35)2003 resident estimates based on 2001 census.
Sources:
Dental Practice Board.
Office for National Statistics.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent NHS dentists have been employed in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [4799]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on full-time equivalent national health service dentists is not available as dentists are able to vary the amount of hours they work and their NHS commitment. Many dentists do some private work.
The number of dentists doing NHS work in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency in each of the last five years is shown in the table.
| As at 31 December each year | Number |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 81 |
| 2001 | 83 |
| 2002 | 88 |
| 2003 | 93 |
| 2004 | 89 |
This data come from the Dental Practice Board and relate to the number of dentists working in the general dental service and personal dental service and relate to dentists whose practice address postcode is within the constituency boundary.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists have (a) left and (b) joined the NHS in the Portsmouth area in each of the last five years. [6004]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
Notes:
1.Complete leaver means that the dentist had an open contract in December of the previous year but no GDS or PDS contract in the PCT in December of the specified year.
2.Complete new entrant means that the dentist had an open contract in December of the specified year but no GDS or PDS contract in the PCT in December of the previous year.
3.The figures are based on GDS and PDS contracts.
4.The dentists include principals, assistants and trainees.
Source:
Dental Practice Board.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists were employed in each primary care trust in North Yorkshire in (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04 and (c) 2004–05. [6204]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the following table.
Notes:
1.The figures given by PCT include all dentists practising in that area. Some dentists may have an open GDS or PDS contract in more than one PCT and therefore they have been counted more than once.
2.Prison contracts have been excluded.
3.The areas have been defined using practice postcodes within the specified areas.
Source:
Dental Practice Board
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