Chamber
Plenary, 05 Sep 2002
05 Sep 2002 · S1 · Plenary
Item of business
NHS Dental Services (Moray)
I congratulate Margaret Ewing on keeping the subject of access to NHS dental care on the agenda.
We have heard a lot of statistics and I want to throw in a few more that are relevant. The Scottish Executive's figures show that 51 per cent of adults and nearly 25 per cent of our children are not even registered with an NHS dentist. It is not surprising to find that 56 per cent of our five-year-olds have signs of dental disease and 18 per cent of adults do not have any teeth at all. One third of Scottish dentists no longer take NHS patients and a further 10 per cent will accept only certain NHS patients. The problem is not just focused on Moray and Grampian; it is a Scotland-wide issue.
I want to focus on the last statistic that I will present, which is that the British Dental Association's recommended ratio of dentists to the population is one dentist for every 2,000 people. In Moray and Aberdeenshire there are 4,400 people for every dentist. That unacceptable situation has not improved since we had our first members' business debate on the subject two years ago.
I recognise and welcome—as I did at the time—the Scottish Executive's £1 million package and the attempts that have been made to encourage, with golden hellos, recruitment of dentists to the rural north-east. So far in the debate, the minister has been listening to the problems that members have described, but, although I am short of time, I will identify two solutions to those problems. We are here not only to identify problems, but to share our ideas on how to solve them.
The simple issue is that, with the closure of the Edinburgh dental school, we do not have enough dentists—full stop. We must open another dental school, and the best place for that would be Aberdeen. The problem is particularly focused on the north-east because, as we have heard, it is difficult to bring people up to the north-east unless they are training there. A new dental school in Aberdeen is necessary.
I am afraid that we must also focus on breaking the link with the UK national health service. One hundred per cent of dentists said in a survey that a review of NHS and laboratory fees is necessary. Therefore, we must change the system. It is about time that the Scottish Executive examined the situation. If it identifies a problem that is specific to Scotland, it must break the link with the UK approach. We should have Scottish solutions to Scottish problems. This is a devolved matter, and we must tackle it. I ask the minister to consider breaking that link with the UK arrangements.
We have heard a lot of statistics and I want to throw in a few more that are relevant. The Scottish Executive's figures show that 51 per cent of adults and nearly 25 per cent of our children are not even registered with an NHS dentist. It is not surprising to find that 56 per cent of our five-year-olds have signs of dental disease and 18 per cent of adults do not have any teeth at all. One third of Scottish dentists no longer take NHS patients and a further 10 per cent will accept only certain NHS patients. The problem is not just focused on Moray and Grampian; it is a Scotland-wide issue.
I want to focus on the last statistic that I will present, which is that the British Dental Association's recommended ratio of dentists to the population is one dentist for every 2,000 people. In Moray and Aberdeenshire there are 4,400 people for every dentist. That unacceptable situation has not improved since we had our first members' business debate on the subject two years ago.
I recognise and welcome—as I did at the time—the Scottish Executive's £1 million package and the attempts that have been made to encourage, with golden hellos, recruitment of dentists to the rural north-east. So far in the debate, the minister has been listening to the problems that members have described, but, although I am short of time, I will identify two solutions to those problems. We are here not only to identify problems, but to share our ideas on how to solve them.
The simple issue is that, with the closure of the Edinburgh dental school, we do not have enough dentists—full stop. We must open another dental school, and the best place for that would be Aberdeen. The problem is particularly focused on the north-east because, as we have heard, it is difficult to bring people up to the north-east unless they are training there. A new dental school in Aberdeen is necessary.
I am afraid that we must also focus on breaking the link with the UK national health service. One hundred per cent of dentists said in a survey that a review of NHS and laboratory fees is necessary. Therefore, we must change the system. It is about time that the Scottish Executive examined the situation. If it identifies a problem that is specific to Scotland, it must break the link with the UK approach. We should have Scottish solutions to Scottish problems. This is a devolved matter, and we must tackle it. I ask the minister to consider breaking that link with the UK arrangements.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
SNP
I ask members to move along and clear the chamber. I also remind those who wish to speak in the debate that they should press their request-to-speak buttons ...
Motion debated,
That the Parliament recognises that the provision of NHS dental services in Moray has reached crisis point; finds it unacceptable that residents of Moray now...
Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP):
SNP
I thank everyone who signed the motion. I am glad to see such a huge interest in Moray. I particularly welcome Nora Radcliffe, because although Keith is not ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
I remind members that the debate is specific to Moray, so I will be listening for some geographic or service links to Moray in members' speeches.
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD):
LD
Part of my constituency lies in Moray, but the problems of a lack of dental services, or a lack of access to dental services, are acute throughout the north-...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
I, too, am delighted to see Margaret Ewing back. If I may say so, Margaret looks very well. It is nice to see her back in her stride, as feisty as usual, for...
Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab):
Lab
I, too, welcome Margaret Ewing back to the chamber. I am pleased that she had the first question of question time and opened today's members' business debate...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
As of now I would be grateful if the speeches were kept to under three minutes.
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP):
SNP
I say very well done to Margaret Ewing for securing a debate on this important topic. It is good to be able to add my welcome back to her. It is also good to...
Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD):
LD
I congratulate Margaret Ewing on keeping the subject of access to NHS dental care on the agenda.We have heard a lot of statistics and I want to throw in a fe...
Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP):
SNP
I congratulate my colleague Margaret Ewing on her initiative in leading this important debate. I hope that the minister will address the problems in Moray as...
Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I congratulate Margaret Ewing on securing this important debate. I welcome her back to the Parliament—she is back with a bang. SNP parliamentary group meetin...
Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP):
SNP
In an entirely impartial and unbiased way, I warmly congratulate Margaret Ewing on her excellent exposition of the topic. I will address some of the deeper i...
The Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care (Mrs Mary Mulligan):
Lab
I, too, join members in welcoming Margaret Ewing back to the chamber. It is great to see her and I look forward to debating many other issues with her. Howev...
Mr Rumbles:
LD
Two years ago, in the initial debate on the matter, I said that the target of 120 dentists in the dental action plan was not a great one to achieve. In fact,...
Mrs Mulligan:
Lab
One hundred and twenty dentists is an achievable target. Instead of simply increasing that number, we need to find out how to retain those people in Scotland...
Maureen Macmillan:
Lab
Will the minister consider giving more support to training practices in the Highlands? More training practices being in receipt of support would attract new ...
Mrs Mulligan:
Lab
I will come back to that point in a moment.We are also able to offer postgraduate vocational training places for all Scottish graduate dentists. Moreover, to...
Mary Scanlon:
Con
Does the minister acknowledge that Mike Rumbles's suggestion that there should be a new dental school in Aberdeen would be extremely difficult to implement, ...
Mrs Mulligan:
Lab
As I said, we must consider what we have at the moment and decide how we can use it in the best possible way. By ensuring that students leave the dental hosp...
Meeting closed at 17:56.