§ Mr. Roy HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to settle the dispute with dentists practising in the national health service.
§ Dr. MawhinneyI refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave to a private notice question from the hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook) on 6 July at columns 21–25.
§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide a breakdown by health region of the annual running cost of salaried dentists operating within the national health service; and if she will provide a breakdown by health region of the annual cost to the national health service of dental treatment.
§ Dr. MawhinneyFor the year ending March 1991 the annual cost of general dental services and the running costs of national health service salaried dentists in each health region are shown in the table.
Region Cost of GDS Cost of salaried dentists £000 £000 Northern 41,935 8.056 Yorkshire 53,209 25.585 Trent 63,435 30.599 East Anglia 27,323 23.741 North West Thames 52,538 58.355 North East Thames 54,304 524.161 South East Thames 53,390 238.918 South West Thames 43,265 41.071 Wessex 38,703 29.340 Oxford 32,455 8.178 South Western 49,675 71.389 West Midlands 67,381 124.706 Mersey 36,987 115.541 North Western 63,567 56.105 ENGLAND 678,167 1,355.745
§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what advisory criteria her Department issues to family health service authorities in England by which cross-infection rates in dental surgeries are measured in both absolute and relative terms.
§ Dr. MawhinneyFamily health services authorities may arrange for the inspection of dental surgeries which368W includes consideration of cross-infection control. The Department has not issued guidance on measurement of cross-infection rates.