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Dept of Health

Answer

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in Newcastle-under-Lyme. [198565] Ms Rosie Winterton: Figures for the number of dentists are not available for Newcastle-under-Lyme Primary Care Trust (PCT) prior to 2002, when the PCT was established. The number of dentists within the Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area has increased from 392 in September 1997 to 449 in June 2004; this is an increase of 14.5 per cent. Of the £35 million additional funding announced in September 2003 to improve access, choice and quality for patients in areas that have problems, Newcastle-under-Lyme PCT has received £69,000. Of the further £15 million announced in November 2003 to develop easier access and improve quality further, Newcastle-under-Lyme PCT received £30,000. The PCT has also received an additional £10,000 modernisation funding for salaried primary care dental services, which is to be shared across North Staffordshire. Newcastle-under-Lyme PCT has a target of increasing dental registrations by 1,375 by 2005. Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA reports that the PCT is on the way to achieving this. In addition, Newcastle-under-Lyme PCT is involved in the Department of Health's latest round of international recruitment. Two practices are planning to interview prospective new dentists during early December. Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA reports that the PCT will be setting up, and directly managing, a salaried dental suite at Cross Heath. This will provide additional registrations primarily for the local population. Provisions in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 will underpin a modernised, high-quality primary dental service. A new contract for dentists will be introduced from October 2005, based on Personal Dental Services (PDS) pilots that encourage a more preventative, oral health focus. Under the new arrangements, PCTs will have a duty to secure the provision of primary dental services either through contracts with individual practices, or by providing services themselves. With these new responsibilities will go nearly £1.3 billion of financial resources currently held centrally. Nationally, PCT funding for dentistry will increase by 19.3 per cent. over two years (2005-06 over 2003-04). This means that by 2005-06 we will be providing over £250 million a year extra for dentistry. The national health service workforce will be increased by the equivalent of 1,000 dentists by October 2005, allowing up to an extra two million people to be treated. An NHS support team has been created to work with those PCTs having the most difficulty with access, and this is supported by £9 million of funding in the run-up to local commissioning. Forty-seven Dental Access Centres have been set up to help tackle access problems in areas with particular difficulties. Additional funding of £65.2 million was announced in September 2003 to support change and help improve access, quality and choice for patients.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

198565; 426 c1955-6W;426 c1960-2W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Access Dental services Finance NHS Primary care trusts Newcastle-under-Lyme

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk