§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of cross-infection in general dental surgeries.
§ Mr. DorrellThe Department has issued guidance on various occasions since the publication of the report of the Expert Advisory Group on Hepatitis in Dentistry in 1979. The chief dental officer wrote to all general dental practitioners on the subject in April 1986 and May 1988. In addition, the general principles of cross-infection control have been outlined in the publication "Guidance for Clinical Health Care Workers", a copy of which is available in the Library. The Department also contributed to the British Dental Association's revised guidance on cross-infection control. The Department regularly considers the question of further guidance on cross-infection control in the light of circumstances prevailing at the time.
§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure that the regulation to empower family health service authorities to inspect general dental surgeries will include the provision for financial penalties and disciplinary action when such surgeries expose their patients to unacceptable risks from cross-infection.
§ Mr. DorrellThe terms of service under which dental practitioners provide general dental services under the NHS already make it clear that they must employ proper skill and attention, provide suitable equipment, and provide treatment with suitable instruments for their patients. A dentist found to have acted in breach of his terms of service is vulnerable to sanctions which may be imposed by the family health service authority.
§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a list of those hospitals providing paediatric emergency dental services staffed by the community dental service.
Mr. Dorrell: This information is not held centrally.