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Lamb calls for NHS reform
24th Sep 2009
Norman Lamb: 'The chocie is clear'
Dentists who work in parts of the country with higher oral health needs should be paid more, the Liberal Democrats have proposed.
Norman Lamb, the party's health spokesman, told delegates at the Liberal Democrat's annual conference in Bournemouth that the move would help boost access to NHS dentistry where it was weakest.
Mr Lamb said dentistry was in ‘real need' of reform, despite the government's 2006 new contract.
The MP for North Norfolk backed proposals made by Professor Jimmy Steele, in his independent review of NHS dental services published this summer, to give dentists across England greater incentives to take on more patients.
He also argued that dentists should be forced to work for the NHS for at least five years before going private – a proposal also put forward by the Tories earlier this year.
Mr Lamb said: ‘The Liberal Democrats will ensure there is an NHS dentist available to everyone who needs one – by making sure that dentists who are trained by the NHS work in the NHS for a minimum of five years.
‘By reforming dentists' contracts so they're paid to take on more NHS patients, not just getting money for the number of treatments they provide. And we'll prioritise areas where dental
services are worst, by providing increased payments to dentists who operate in the areas of greatest need.'
Mr Lamb sais that his party wanted to set out the ‘principle' of offering incentives for working in areas of highest need, rather than being ‘prescriptive' about how it was achieved.
He said: ‘There are parts of the country where NHS dentistry is weak and access is poor. The problems are particularly acute for those on low incomes who can't afford the private alternative and are left with very poor access.
‘We have got to be prepared to incentivise dentists to plug those gaps.'
Mr Lamb said his party had signed up to the ‘thrust' of the reforms proposed by the Steele review, and paid tribute to Professor Steele's ‘positive and constructive contribution', adding: ‘He's clearly taken his role seriously and gone out and listened to dentists around the country.'
The health spokesman, in his speech to the conference, warned that the NHS as a whole was in ‘danger' because it faced the biggest financial crisis in its history.
He told delegates: ‘Whoever wins the next election, the pressures will be the same. The crisis in public finances dictates that savings must be found.'
The MP insisted healthcare should not be immune from the process of reducing cost, but suggested savings could be re-invested in the NHS.
Turning to next year's general election, Mr Lamb said: ‘The choice is clear. Vote Labour and you will continue with an NHS strangled by bureaucracy. Vote Tory and the very existence of the NHS is at risk. Or vote Liberal Democrat for a party which is ambitious, straight talking and prepared to take the tough decisions to safeguard the very future of our NHS.'
Author
Andy Tate
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