§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS orthodontists there have been in each year since 1997. [154436]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information requested is shown in the table.
>Hospital/Public Health Medicine and Community Health Services (HCHS): Dental staff within the Orthodontics specialty Numbers (headcount) All staff Of which: Consultant
1997 509 153 1998 501 153 1999 504 157 2000 513 161 2001 506 154 2002 508 161 March 2003 n/a 174 June 2003 n/a 181 1Data as at 30 September each year, except 2003 data which is at 31 March and 30 June. n/a = Data not available due to data being taken from the mini censuses that collected consultants only. Source: Department of Health medical and dental workforce census The number of national health service consultant orthodontists, working in the NHS, increased by 18 per cent. between September 1997 and June 2003.