§ Mr. ShersbyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the names and current responsibilities of the members of the oral health strategy group convened by the chief dental officer together with the group's terms of reference; and if he will make a statement concerning the discussions which took place at the meeting held on 4 and 6 October.
§ Mr. DorrellThe oral health strategy group. comprises:
Members
- Mr. R. B. Mouatt (Chairman)—Chief Dental Officer, Department of Health.
- Miss M. R. Edwards—Assistant Secretary, Department of Health.
- Professor J. J. Murray—Department of Child Dental Health, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Professor C. J. Smith—Department of Oral Pathology, Charles Clifford Dental School, Sheffield.
- Mr. N. B. A. Entwistle—Advisory Board in General Dental Practice, Faculty of Dental Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons of England. Senior Dental Officer, Community Dental Service dental research and information unit, University of Wales.
- Mr. W. Allen—General dental practitioner and Regional Adviser in general dental practice.
- Mr. R. C. Ward—Consultant in dental public health, East Suffolk Health Authority.
- Dr. S. Griffiths—Regional Director of Public Health, SW Thames Regional Health Authority.
- Professor M. A. Lennon—Department of Community Dental Health, University of Liverpool.
- Professor A. Sheiham—Department of Community Dental Health, University College and Middlesex Hospitals, London.
- Mr. G. O. Taylor—Consultant in dental public health and Regional Dental Officer, North Western Regional Health Authority.
- Miss J. Todd—Statistician, Dental Practice Board. Professor N. H. F. Wilson—Department of Conservative Dentistry. Turner Dental School, Manchester.
- Mr. R. Thompson—Association of Community Health Councils of England and Wales.
- Mrs. F. M. Baker (Secretary)—Dental officer, Department of Health.
Observers
- Mr. N. K. Colquhoun—Chief Dental Officer, Scotland.
46 - Mr. D. M. Heap—Chief Dental Oficer, Wales.
- Mr. W. Collins—Chief Dental Officer Northern Ireland.
The group's terms of reference are:
To revise the 1981 oral health strategy and to advise on the development of an oral health strategy for England, in particular to:
- define oral health;
- assist in the development of a consultative document which would invite nationwide comment on the development of an oral health strategy;
- identify areas of oral health where there is a need for and an opportunity to effect a reduction in avoidable oral disease and where concerted activity could bring major measurable health gain;
- set a framework of the best possible information on current status against which progress could be measured;
- establish clear targets which could be translated into effective action to meet them and to indicate the manner in which those targets might be achieved."
The first meeting of the group considered the opportunities for health gain afforded by a new oral health strategy and the issues to be addressed in the consultative document. Issues considered ranged over health promotion and education, models of disease prevention, inter-agency activity, consumer participation, care delivery, and primary and secondary care boundaries.