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Heated debate continues
1st Sep 2005
A debate took place in the House of Commons on a Lib Dem motion attacking the Government’s record on dentistry. It was an ‘Opposition Day’ in the House and the Minister for Health was in the spot light over the modernisation of dentistry. The Minister gave hints about what will happen in the future and quotes some stats, some of which look highly questionable: 1. Since 1997 the number of dentists registered with the Dental Practice Board has risen from 16,700 to more than 20,100 2. Courses of NHS treatment have risen from 24.6 million to 32 million 3. A quarter of dentists—5,800 in 2,100 practices—have moved to the new personal dental services; as new PDS dentists build up their patient base, access is increasing 4. Since last April, the equivalent of approximately 830 additional dentists are treating NHS patients through a mixture of domestic returners, international recruits and additional NHS commitment from existing dentists 5. Another 117 Polish recruits are due to take up posts in England between now and the end of October, so we are well on the way to meeting the 1,000 target. The Minister for Health admitted that there was no doubt that the drift of NHS dentists to the private sector has caused real problems in parts of the country. Beresford attack Sir Paul Beresford, a dentist, MP, and member of Dentistry magazine’s editorial advisory board, asked whether what the NHS offers is going to be broadened or will the NHS stick to offering only a core service? The Minister replied that the NHS would continue to offer what is considered clinically necessary. She said: ‘The honorable gentleman rightly distinguishes between the core service and some of the cosmetic treatments that are available, such as white fillings, teeth whitening and so on. We firmly believe that the NHS should continue to provide what is clinically necessary for good oral health, but it will not extend into cosmetic surgery, as that is for individuals to decide. Those services are available in the private sector, but we do not believe that they are suitable for NHS provision.’ The debate split very much on party lines with opposition (both Conservative and Lib Dems saying that things were dire in their constituencies and Labour members saying that, thanks to more money from Her Majesty’s Government and cooperative PCTs, the situation was being brought under control in theirs. Below is some of the extraordinary extracts from the debate in the House of Commons. Sir Paul Beresford: What financial assistance has been offered to those primary care trusts who have received Polish dentists to help cover the costs of relocation packages, the eight-week training programme and any necessary additional training? Ms Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts are required to provide financial support, as part of the Department's central recruitment initiative to dentists from Poland, to cover the cost of relocation to England. The eight-week training programme for Polish dentists is covered in the cost of the contract with Methods, and is therefore met by the Department. £20,000 was made available by the Department to each post graduate dental deanery to provide an induction programme for Polish and other dentists following their arrival in England. Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with which countries his Department has discussed recruiting dentists from; and what the value is of each contract let to Method Consulting for the recruitment of overseas dentists. Ms Rosie Winterton: Talks have progressed on recruiting dentists from Greece, Portugal, Germany, Spain, India and Poland. The value of the contract let to Methods Consulting for the recruitment of overseas dentists was £4.1 million. Sir Paul Beresford: How many Polish dentists (a) have registered and (b) are waiting to register with the General Dental Council to practise as a result of primary care trusts' recruitment initiatives; and how many have commenced practising in England. Ms Rosie Winterton: Since accession to the European Union in May, a total of 224 dentists from Poland had registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) to the end of February 2005. Information is not held about the number of these who may have responded to primary care trusts' local recruitment. As a result of the Department's central recruitment initiative in Poland, 69 Polish dentists have registered with the GDC and none are currently waiting to register. 28 dentists have started practising in January. The remaining 41 dentists are commencing practise between 14 March and 4 April. Mr Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in Leeds, North-West. Ms Rosie Winterton: Leeds North West Primary Care Trust (PCT) has received £96,000 capital funding, which is being utilised through the PCTs dental incentive scheme, to ensure that the commitment of local dentists to the national health service is maintained. This funding will also support general dental practitioners in ensuring patient safety and improving practice premises. A further £42,000 revenue funding has been received by the Leeds North West PCT, which will provide three extra NHS dental sessions a week. In addition, the PCT is currently implementing an access scheme to provide urgent and routine treatment sessions for non-registered NHS patients in the area. By April 2005, Leeds North West PCT will have six general dental practices working under personal dental services (PDS) arrangements. These practices have successfully secured an additional £221,000 to increase the work force, benefiting an additional 1,355 new patients and enabling the re-registration of approximately 2,500 NHS patients. Leeds North West PCT is currently being supported through the West Yorkshire work force confederation to participate in the tranche four of the international dental recruitment campaign co-ordinated by the Department. Mr Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists have been recruited via his Department's International Recruitment Scheme since the beginning of 2004; how many are working in the south-west; how long each has been at work and where; and whether each (a) recruit from an EU member state and (b) partner of such a recruit is eligible for state benefits, with particular reference to maternity benefits. Ms Rosie Winterton: 69 dentists have been recruited from Poland via the Department's international recruitment scheme. 17 of these have been working in Devon or Cornwall since January 2005. They are located in Camborne, Liskeard, Paignton, Exeter (all two each) and Falmouth, Cullompton, Exmouth, Seaton, St Budeaux, South Brent, Constantine, Plymouth, Torquay (all one each). The government continues to be put under pressure from all angles of the profession to ensure that this once in a century opportunity to modernise dentistry is a success for the public and for the profession.
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