§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of community dental clinics operating in Britain for each year since 1979.
§ Mr. FreemanThe number of operational community dental clinics, both fixed and mobile, in England in each of the years since 1979 is as follows:
Caldendar/Financial year1 Number of clinics2 1979 1,861 1980 1,865 1981 1,864 1982 1,876 1983 1,909 1984 1,881 1985 1,907 1986–87 1,838 1987–88 1,810 1988–89 1,747 1 Figures up to 1985 relate to calendar years. Information thereafter is based on financial years. 2 These figures relate to the total number of clinics available, though some may not have been in use for part or all of the year in question.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the dental attendance figures for the Wakefield district health authority for each year since 1979.
§ Mr. FreemanThe information requested is not available centrally for the period before 1982. From 1982 the figures for Wakefield DHA are shown in the table. The information relates to the community dental service.
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Last day of caldendar/Financial year Number of attendances2 1982 12,456 1983 13,167 1984 12,652 1985 11,265 1986–87 9,881 1987–88 10,720 1988–89 8,730
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is his policy with regard to the future of the community dental service; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what plans there are to improve the dental care of those children whose parents fail to arrange regular dental checks.
§ Mr. FreemanFollowing proposals made in their White Paper "Promoting Better Health", the Government took powers in the Health and Medicines Act 1988 to enable changes to be made to the responsibilities of the community dental service.
In the Government's view, general dental practitioners should normally provide dental care to schoolchildren.
Vaccination and immunisation—South Yorkshire—1988–89 Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)—number immunised by age Districts Age under 1 Age 1 Age 2 Age 3 Age 4 Age 5 Age 6–7 Age 8–15 Age 16–19 20 or over Total all ages Barnsley 5 1,396 292 251 994 133 25 3 0 0 3,099 Doncaster 0 2,097 586 435 1,392 724 546 250 0 0 6,030 Rotherham 10 1,784 289 263 1,216 145 111 19 0 0 3,837 Sheffield 18 2,406 593 357 1,268 719 562 257 29 0 6,209 Total ages 33 7,683 1,760 1,306 4,870 1,721 1,244 529 29 0 19,175 Source: Form KC50A.